Barclays has revealed which consumer trends adopted during the pandemic have been left behind.
The bank’s top 3 ‘lockdown leave behinds’ are:
- Price overshadows support for shopping locally
Brits shopped closer to home and became more community-spirited during the height of pandemic, leading to significant growth at local food and drink specialist stores. However, now that 68% of shoppers say they are looking for ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop amid the cost-of-living crunch, Brits are increasingly prioritising lower prices over their desire to shop locally. Three in 10 (30%) of these shoppers are buying from larger supermarkets because prices tend to be lower than in smaller, independent shops, and 23% have shifted their spending because larger stores tend to have more options when it comes to budget and value ranges.
Despite these inflationary pressures, however, millions of Brits have remained loyal to local businesses. A quarter say lockdowns made them realise how much they value their local high-street, so still try to support it where possible and 23% now try to spend locally rather than shopping online.
- Avoiding takeaway temptation
Over half (52%) of consumers who ordered takeaways during the lockdowns say they now spend less on takeout food than they did during that period, with 25% reporting they now spend significantly less.
Meanwhile, the proportion of grocery spending online compared to in-store has risen compared to pre-lockdown levels. Before the UK’s first lockdown in March 2020, only 10% of grocery shopping was conducted online – this rose to 16% during the lockdowns and until the restrictions were eased in March 2021, and has now settled at 13.4% (February 2023 data). This indicates that – of the millions of Brits who switched to buying groceries online during the lockdowns – many more have made the change permanently, compared to those who have now returned to their preferred way to buy their weekly shop.
- Dwindling deliveries
The number of home deliveries has fallen by an estimated 22% compared to during the pandemic – Brits report that they received an average of five deliveries per month during this period, compared to only 3.9 per month now. In addition, 22% of shoppers say they currently receive no online deliveries at all, compared to 16% during the pandemic.
Another ecommerce trend that has fallen in popularity since lockdown restrictions lifted is click-and-collect. Of the 53% of Brits who have used click-and-collect, 31% now use it less regularly than they did during the lockdowns, compared to just 19% who has increased the number of orders they choose to pick up in-store.
Marc Pettican, Head of Barclaycard Payments, said: “The cost-of-living crunch is slowly unpicking some of these trends as Brits have had to become more selective about how and where they shop. For example, the boom in takeaways has tapered off, as has spending at local independent stores, as consumers continue to look for ways to cut costs to help make ends meet.”
