Barclays marks three years from the beginning of the UK’s first lockdown with new insights revealing which shopper tendencies adopted in the course of the pandemic have stood the check of time and which have been left behind, because the growing price of residing additionally continues to affect discretionary spending.
British financial institution Barclays commemorates the start of the UK’s first lockdown on 23 March with a retrospective take a look at the tendencies to emerge from this time. Its evaluation places ahead the three tendencies which have stood the check of time, and the three that, just like the pandemic, fizzled out of the general public eye and into the pages of historical past.
It’s troublesome to disclaim how the blow of the pandemic formed the lives customers dwell at this time, chief amongst this variation being felt all through using monetary expertise.
It was an period of recent hobbies, much less socialisation, facet hustles and loads of alone time; but three years on, which of the tendencies given wind by the pandemic have survived into the current day? That is in the end the query the financial institution’s newest analysis seeks to reply.
Barclays’ prime three ‘lockdown legacies’:
The pandemic powered a increase in UK entrepreneurship and impressed many Brits to start out new facet hustles and small companies – particularly furloughed staff who discovered themselves with further time on their fingers. Barclays’ information exhibits that just about one in three Brits (28 per cent) has began a brand new small enterprise or discovered a strategy to complement their earnings because the first nationwide lockdown three years in the past.
The bulk who began a brand new enterprise (86 per cent) are nonetheless working their small companies or side-hustle, with over a 3rd (34 per cent) saying it has grow to be their major supply of earnings. Standard start-ups and money-making initiatives began by these commercially-minded Brits embody cleansing companies, on-line tutoring, translation providers, baking, cat-sitting, jewelry making and on-line health lessons.
In-trend ‘insperiences’
Through the pandemic, lengthy grocery store queues and a scarcity of grocery supply slots led to a surge in demand for meal-box subscription providers, and three years on many Brits have grow to be much more reliant on their ease and comfort. Nearly half (46 per cent) of those that signed up for pre-prepared meal kits and 35 per cent who began utilizing make-your-own meal-kit subscriptions in the course of the lockdowns now spend extra on these providers every month than they did throughout that interval.
Lockdowns additionally led to an increase in demand for digital leisure, providers and experiences. Brits watched extra boxsets and spent extra time at house in the course of the pandemic, resulting in fast progress in digital content material consumption. By April 2020, spending on digital content material had elevated by 40.5 per cent in comparison with February 2020, the final full month earlier than the primary lockdown.
At the same time as restrictions eased after March 2021, digital content material and subscription progress have averaged 41 per cent all through the post-lockdown interval versus February 2020.
When many leisure and leisure venues closed, 62 per cent of Brits took benefit of the chance to be taught a brand new interest or talent, and thousands and thousands have continued their pandemic pastimes. Since life returned to regular, Brits have continued to take pleasure in the most well-liked pursuits of gardening (20 per cent), exercising (19 per cent) and baking (16 per cent).
Particularly, on-line coaching has continued to show a well-liked strategy to keep in form, with some health followers now utilizing free on-line train movies to economize (13 per cent) as an alternative of paying for lessons. The same quantity additionally say they now want to train at house or outdoor somewhat than visiting a health club (12 per cent) after adopting a brand new routine in the course of the pandemic.
Barclays’ prime three ‘lockdown depart behinds’:Worth overshadows help for buying domestically
Brits shopped nearer to house and have become extra community-spirited in the course of the top of the pandemic, resulting in vital progress at native foods and drinks specialist shops – resembling butchers, bakeries and unbiased and comfort retailers. Throughout the entire of 2020, spending on this class was up 28.6 per cent in comparison with 2019.
Nonetheless, now that just about seven in 10 (68 per cent) buyers say they’re searching for methods to cut back the price of their weekly buying amid the cost-of-living crunch, Brits are more and more prioritising decrease costs over their want to buy domestically. Three in 10 (30 per cent) of those buyers are shopping for from bigger supermarkets as a result of costs are typically decrease than in smaller, unbiased retailers, and almost 1 / 4 (23 per cent) has shifted their spending as a result of bigger shops are inclined to have extra choices relating to price range and worth ranges.
Regardless of these inflationary pressures, nevertheless, thousands and thousands of Brits have remained loyal to native companies. 1 / 4 (25 per cent) say lockdowns made them realise how a lot they worth their native excessive avenue, in order that they nonetheless attempt to help it the place potential and 23 per cent now attempt to spend domestically somewhat than buying on-line.
Avoiding takeaway temptation
Over half (52 per cent) of customers who ordered takeaways in the course of the lockdowns say they now spend much less on takeout meals than they did throughout that interval, with 25 per cent reporting they now spend considerably much less.
In the meantime, the proportion of grocery spending on-line in comparison with in-store has risen in comparison with pre-lockdown ranges. Earlier than the UK’s first lockdown in March 2020, solely 10.0 per cent of grocery buying was performed on-line – this rose to 16.0 per cent in the course of the lockdowns and till the restrictions have been eased in March 2021, and has now settled at 13.4 per cent (February 2023 information).
This means that – of the thousands and thousands of Brits who switched to purchasing groceries on-line in the course of the lockdowns – many extra have modified completely, in comparison with those that have now returned to their most popular means to purchase their weekly store.
The variety of house deliveries has fallen by an estimated 22 per cent in comparison with in the course of the pandemic – Brits report that they acquired a median of 5.0 deliveries per thirty days throughout this era, in comparison with solely 3.9 per thirty days now. As well as, 22 per cent of buyers say they at present obtain no on-line deliveries in any respect, in comparison with solely 16 per cent in the course of the pandemic.
One other e-commerce pattern that has fallen in recognition since lockdown restrictions lifted is click on and acquire. Of the 53 per cent of Brits who’ve used this service, one in three (31 per cent) now use it much less recurrently than they did in the course of the lockdowns, in comparison with only one in 5 (19 per cent) who’ve elevated the variety of orders they select to select up in-store.
Standing the check of time
“From ‘insperiences’ to on-line health, the pandemic formed and accelerated a number of notable shifts in shopper behaviour,” feedback Marc Pettican, head of Barclaycard Funds.
“Nonetheless, the cost-of-living crunch is slowly unpicking a few of these tendencies as Brits have needed to grow to be extra selective about how and the place they store. For instance, the increase in takeaways has tapered off, as has spending at native unbiased shops, as customers proceed to search for methods to chop prices to assist make ends meet.
“What’s constructive although is that the entrepreneurial spirit we noticed in the course of the pandemic nonetheless lives on, with over a 3rd of those that began a small enterprise or facet hustle prior to now three years even managing to show it into their major supply of earnings.”
