Consumers likely to play safe rather than spend, spend, spend
Half (51%) of people in the UK who have built up their savings during the pandemic intend to hang onto these funds, new research suggests.
The findings pose a challenge to the view that the UK economy will bounce back in 2021 due to a sudden release of pent-up consumer demand, says Ipsos MORI, which surveyed more than 3,000 people for Nationwide Building Society’s UK Consumer Insight Panel.
What’s more, this comes at a time of record-low interest rates, when there has never been less of an incentive to save.
Three quarters (74%) of those who took part in the survey said they want to save more than they have done in the past, as the pandemic has shown the world is full of risk and uncertainty. And eight in ten (79%) said they want to save enough money so they don’t need to worry about losing their job.