Xin Ou
Research expert covering Greater China
Consumer behavior in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts
Consumer prices of non-food and non-energy goods have seen a sharp increase over the past three years. This of course has an impact on consumer behavior and in particular how much shoppers feel able to spend. When it comes to what shoppers are most interested in spending their money on clothing, food and beverages, and shoes top the list.
Having less money to spend is one reason as to why people are frequenting the high street less, however another reason is the advancement of online shopping. It is now easier than ever to make purchases online and around 42 percent of people in the UK preferred to use online marketplaces with various sellers for their shopping needs.
Events such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the energy crisis have caused economic instability in recent years which has at points made consumers more cautious with their money. Forecasts suggest that real household disposable income is set to rise in the coming years which will hopefully encourage consumers to increase their spending.
Spending habits
The UK has seen a cost of living crisis over the past few years and in January 2025 almost 60 percent of adults said that their cost of living had risen compared to the previous month. This means that people will be trying to look for areas where they can decrease their spending. For shoppers in the UK responses to the cost of living crisis included making fewer purchases, eating out less, and buying cheaper items. Not all shoppers, however, are staying frugal, some consumers are still treating themselves. Across all age groups, the most common category for people to splurge was food and beverages. Gen Z and Millennials, on the other hand, were most likely to be spending on clothing and personal care.Threats facing brick-and-mortar stores
Ultimately, consumers spending less is detrimental to retailers. The UK high street has suffered with people putting more consideration into their purchases as well as perhaps opting to shop online instead of in-store. 2024 saw over 8,500 store closures which although lower than in previous years is not an insignificant number. One major contributing factor to this is the fact that fewer people are going to the high street. Consequently, it is more difficult for stores to make sales. One example of this is the fashion retailer New Look, a staple of the UK high street. The company most recently recorded sales of 555 million pounds whilst a decade ago this figure stood at around 1.1 billion pounds.Having less money to spend is one reason as to why people are frequenting the high street less, however another reason is the advancement of online shopping. It is now easier than ever to make purchases online and around 42 percent of people in the UK preferred to use online marketplaces with various sellers for their shopping needs.
Events such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the energy crisis have caused economic instability in recent years which has at points made consumers more cautious with their money. Forecasts suggest that real household disposable income is set to rise in the coming years which will hopefully encourage consumers to increase their spending.
