Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Over a third of consumers will not spend money on a foreign holiday or staycation in 2022, according to new research by leading price comparison service MoneySuperMarket in a further sign that the cost of living is continuing to rise.
The research, which explores consumers major spending intentions in 2022 and how they intend to finance them, finds that 62% will opt for either a holiday abroad (37%) or a staycation (25%), meaning that over 38% are not intending to spend any money on either.
The average spend on foreign holidays will be £2,442, with staycations expected to be £1,127. Residents of the North West will spend the most on their travels abroad (£3,156) and those in Northern Ireland will spend the least (£1,537). 11% are planning to spend more than £5,000 on an overseas getaway this year.
Nearly a third (32%) of consumers will spend on home renovations and DIY jobs, with the average outlay being £2,899. Nearly a quarter (23%) intend to buy furniture with average expenditure expected to be £1,317.
Supply issues in the automotive industry are not discouraging 17% of consumers from buying a new car or motorbike. The average they expect to part with is £6,203, with drivers in the East Midlands preparing to spend the most (£9,501) and drivers in Northern Ireland expecting to spend the least (£3,733).
Nearly one in ten (9%) consumers are planning to invest in a new bicycle for an average of £1,005, with 17% expecting to spend over £2,000.
Debit cards (44%) and good old fashioned cash payments (42%) will be the most popular means of funding cosumers’ big purchases (see table 2), with loans (12%) and buy now pay later options also proving to be popular with one in ten people (11%).2 But with credit cards (40%) the third most popular choice of payment, MoneySuperMarket is encouraging consumers to be more savvy about how they use their flexible friend in 2022 and avoid paying interest – particularly in light of the fact that 11% of credit card users are expecting to pay interest on their balance.
Of those surveyed, nearly two thirds (68%) of credit card users will use their regular card which has no deal, while only a quarter will use cards with interest free deals on purchases (26%) or interest free money transfer deals (24%). 14% will use a money back / perks credit card.
While three fifths of consumers (60%) using credit cards will pay their monthly balance off in full, just over one in ten (11%) expect to incur interest because they do not currently have an interest free period on their existing credit cards. This is the case for 16% of credit card users in the West Midlands and 14% of users in the South West, North West and East Midlands.
Conversely, over a quarter (27%) will pay off their balances gradually, but do not expect to incur interest because they have an interest free deal, with the Northern Irish (55%) most likely to manage their spending this way.
Credit card usage is highest in London (55%) and lowest in the West Midlands (26%).
Jo Thornhill, Money Expert at MoneySuperMarket, said “The cost of living is a growing concern but, while some Brits plan to hold back on non-essential outgoings like holidays, most aren’t putting off big purchases for 2022 yet. The majority are still planning on a holiday, a third will spend on home renovations and nearly one in five are preparing to spend on a new car or motorbike.”
| How Brits are planning to pay for their big purchases | % |
| Debit card | 44% |
| Cash | 42% |
| Credit card | 40% |
| Loan | 12% |
| Rewards from credit card (e.g: air miles to pay for holidays) | 11% |
| Buy now pay later (e.g Klarna, Clearpay) | 11% |
| Other [please state] | 3% |
| N/A – not sure / undecided | 4% |
| Consumers big purchases in 2022 | Average spend | |
| Holiday abroad | 37% | £2,441.50 |
| DIY / Home Renovations | 32% | £2,899.10 |
| Staycation | 25% | £1,126.70 |
| Furniture | 23% | £1,316.50 |
| New mobile phone | 21% | £702.70 |
| Computer | 18% | £1,142.10 |
| New car / motorbike | 17% | £6,203.40 |
| Entertainment (e.g: TV, gaming consoles) | 16% | £1,070.90 |
| Bicycle | 9% | £1,005.40 |
| Wedding | 7% | £2,639.90 |
| School fees | 7% | £2,033.00 |
| None of the above | 21% | N/A |
