Despite easing of Covid restrictions, Brits spent £20.6bn more on ‘night in’ staples – takeaways, TV streaming and subscriptions and booze – in 2021 compared to 2020, averaging £1,300 per head, according to the latest research from insurance broker LifeSearch. LifeSearch looked at spending across 16 categories, including food, entertainment, clothes and retail - and can reveal a 47% (£96.1bn) total increase in actual spending, with huge spikes in the amount spent on health and beauty (61%), petrol (66%), take-out tea and coffee (85%) and in-store retail (68%).
Brits spent a collective £18.2bn (£344 each) on alcohol in 2021, £5.7bn more than during the 2020 lockdown, with 15% of Brits admitting they drank more in 2021 than they did the year before. Furthermore, almost a third (29%) of respondents said they comfort ate more in 2021 than in 2020, which is mirrored in the £7 increase on spending on takeaways per month by the average Brit. This, combined with the fact that 39% of people say they are watching more TV than during 2020’s lockdowns, also supports the theory that ‘a quiet night in’ is now a choice rather than a necessity.
Emma Walker, Chief Marketing Officer at LifeSearch: “Last year we found that spending had increased on the previous year, with particular spikes on things that could be done under restrictions - so takeaways, TV and so on. We expected this year to see spending figures drop, or at least remain stable, as restrictions lifted and people were given freedom to go out again but instead we have seen spending on ‘night in’ staples go up significantly. Part of this could be down to rising costs but spending has increased so much – by £32 (42%) on average per person per month on TV, takeaways and alcohol combined – it suggests that lockdown habits are hard to break.
