Consumer spending falls as Northern Ireland households ‘make do and mend’

The once popular wartime mantra, ‘make do and mend’, is once again making a revival in Northern Ireland as household spending begins to fall significantly.

According to a recent Northern Ireland survey 39% of people claimed they needed to adjust their way of living such as cutting back or borrowing to cover essential spending.

The survey also shows that those consumers in the lower two wage brackets, up to £14,000 and £14,001 to 28,000, were unable to save during the pandemic, with 42% and 37% respectively stating they ‘saved less’.

It also revealed that Northern Ireland consumer confidence is also pessimistic with just 12% of people saying they thought the UK economy would get better over the next year, while 75% thought it would get worse, giving a net confidence level of -63, compared to -47 in England, -54 in Wales and -65 in Scotland.

This attitude is likely due to concerns over supply chain issues and labour shortages, which lines up with new data from CompareNI.com that shows a 20% drop in the average value of home contents insured over the last 12 months – falling from £45,605 to £36,366.

It’s likely that many households will be unpacking last year’s winter clothes instead of buying new, while others will be stalling on bigger purchases, like sofas or TVs until the dust settles.

Households in the UK are likely spending less in preparation for an economic downturn, and some will already be feeling the squeeze and making cutbacks as a direct result of furlough ending and the rising cost of household bills.

Founder of CompareNI.com, Northern Ireland’s leading financial comparison platform, Greg Wilson, highlighted the results of the local survey, he explained: “More than a third of households are reported to be adjusting their spending, that’s a huge percentage of people cutting back.

“Economic disruption is becoming a daily occurrence as a result of a turbulent 19 months, and while some may be trying to save for Christmas, it’s likely many will be taking a longer-term view of their finances.

“The majority of households are looking to save more pre-winter in preparation for the unknown, making it sensible to give finances a winter health check.

“A good place to start is to check how competitive suppliers are by not auto-renewing, reviewing direct debits and cancelling any luxuries, ordering in bulk and looking to sell or repurpose existing household items that are no longer needed.

“Comparison sites also help households gather information – they can give an overview of what’s on offer across multiple providers instantly - comparing prices, add-ons and policy features to help households make savings.

“Our new rewards platform provides additional discounts and cashback on household bills and essential insurance policies.”

CompareNI.com has helped over 650,000 users compare products from over 200 providers on everything from personal loans to credit cards, and from car insurance to home insurance.

From its headquarters in Belfast, Greg Wilson, CEO, and Ian Wilson, managing director, have grown the company to more than 50 team members spread across two European offices.

CompareNI.com has grown to become Northern Ireland’s number one price comparison platform, while the company’s Quotezone.co.uk platform is one of the leading insurance comparison sites in the UK.

The company has been recognised with six Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards, and has been awarded a Deloitte Best Managed Company Award each year for the past five years – now a Gold Standard Best Managed Company since 2020.

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