Plan UK consumers to cut back on restaurant meals and unnecessary shopping in 2023after the cost of living increases with disposable income.
Consultancy KPMG said nearly two-thirds of the 3,000 people the company polled said they needed to cut spending and save more because inflation was at its highest level in four decades.
The study found that consumers pay more for essentials such as food, mortgages and energy bills.
Dining out, take-out meals and new clothes were the first items consumers said they would do without, pointing to weaker demand for retailers and hospitality companies in 2023.
A third of people questioned in the study said they would buy less than necessary and choose more goods with smaller brands, according to Bloomberg, and Al Arabiya.net has seen this.
In turn, Linda Ellett, Head of UK Consumer Markets, Retail and Leisure at KPMG, said: “Consumers are increasingly changing the way they shop to save money, including by switching to cheaper retailers and buying promotional products and replacing meals away from home for meals.”
And KPMG found that nearly half of respondents pull out savings to help them meet basic costs. This percentage rises to 80% among low-income families.
One in 10 consumers surveyed had no savings, and people in London had the lowest average savings, at £4,725 ($5,700).
