We might soon be waving goodbye to ‘hello’ as Brits ditch formal greetings for more relaxed approaches to greeting each other. The study, commissioned by Westfield London, found that nearly 9 out of 10 Brits have found themselves starting to move away from phrases like “good afternoon”, “good morning” and “pleasure to meet you” in recent years.
More colloquial terms like “Hey” and “Alright?”, topped the nation’s greetings of choice according to the 2,000 UK respondents. According to the research, it also appears that the handshake is out, as the top three physical greetings that Brits are using instead of the standard handshake are; the nod (36%), the hug (31%) and the fist bump (28%), with men twice as likely to use a fist bump versus women.
The findings also revealed that when shopping, over three-quarters of Brits would feel awkward if a store sales advisor greeted them informally, such as giving them a fist bump or saying, “What’s up?”.
