For three months, consumers have stated that they intend to drive less, spend less and shop for less expensive items in stores. However, according to Core’s latest Consumer Mindset Report, the statistics reveal that car owners continue to drive as much (despite annual fuel inflation of 31.6%), and people have returned to retail and hospitality spaces, as much as they were pre-pandemic. While we have yet to see spending patterns across multiple categories for this period, it’s evident that many are not cutting back as much as they have said they intend to according to Core’s latest report.

According to the report we should expect no further decline in May generally, while one in two consumers plan to spend less on their weekly groceries, this remains the same proportion as in April, as people are adjusting to new budgets.

However, there are certain industries consumers are still planning to cut back on including the clothing and footwear retail industry as over half of adults (57%) say they plan to spend less on these goods, a further decline in demand month on month.

Another key area where households are planning to reduce spend is streaming services, with 50% of those who use streaming services say they plan to switch, cancel or use less services to save money (up from 40% in the previous month). Pension contributions and charity donations have also seen more people month-on-month state that they will contribute less to combat the rising cost of living according to the report.

Other results revealed consumer sentiment towards how different sectors are trying to manage the rising costs of living including:

  • 44% of adults believe public transport companies are handling rising costs well, which comes at a time when there has been a reduction in fares on public transport
  • One third of respondents of the Core research said they think supermarkets are handling the cost of living well, but 40% of people believe they are not
  • 68% of adults believe energy companies are not handling rising cost of fuel well, with 54% believing the government is handling it poorly

In relation to news stories that resonated with consumers the most, the Core Consumer Mindset Report revealed that more people were aware of Britney Spears' pregnancy, Macron’s re-election, and Elon Musk attempts at acquiring Twitter than they were about a new Covid variant and ESRI predictions about inflation.