• TotallyMoney has released a new study which breaks down the British spending habits over the last decades.
• According to ONS reports, London and South East region are spending the over £600 per week, with only 13% going to bills.
• Fewer Britons have credit card accounts overall since 2006, however, the average amount spent per credit card purchase has risen by 17%.

Coined the “experience economy”, there has been a noticeable pivot in British spending, from food and alcoholic drinks to household bills and credit card spending. However, a recent study conducted by credit experts found that the average British total household expenditure has fallen by 2.04% when compared with 2007.

As the squeeze on household spending continues, an analysis of the change in consumer confidence over the last 10 years gives insight on the shift in priorities.

Credit experts TotallyMoney have explored British spending across various sectors – and eating out, booking holidays and discovering new experiences have collectively risen by 14% when compared to 2007. Other key findings included:

• Household Bills – Since 2008 rental costs have risen by a total of 9%. These have, however, slowly been lowering after a spike of over 7% in 2012-13. Location plays a huge effect on most residents – Greater London is 57% higher than the least expensive area, Northern Ireland.

• Transport – Commuting comes at a cost for Britons, with spending on transport taking up the largest percentage of a household’s weekly expenditure, accounting for 14% of the average family’s weekly expenditure.

• Credit cards – The number of credit card accounts has decreased by 10%, although the total number of purchases made has increased by 25% in the past decade. The value of these purchases has also increased 46%.

• Total Household Spending – The national average weekly household spend is £554.20, which equates to £28,818 a year – over £1,200 more than the national average salary of £27,600.

• Clothing and Footwear – Spending on clothing and footwear has seen the biggest growth throughout all categories, fueled by online spending (accounting for 24% of total fashion spend in 2017), with a 27% increase in expenditure since 2007.

Joe Gardiner, Head of Brand and Communications at TotallyMoney, said, “It’s no secret that the way British people are spending their money has changed over the years. Although outstanding personal loans per household have fallen by 13%, the number of purchases has risen by 25%, which can be accredited to the difference of 4% between how much people are spending yearly and the average national wage. Brits are having to carefully consider what they deem to be important in order to make their income stretch even further.”

To view the full tool of The Evolution of British Spending click here to discover more.