Britain’s consumer spending rose 5.9 per cent in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, driven by a shift towards online shopping and experiences at home.
Spending on “insperiences” – the consumption of in-home products and services, such as takeaways – was the big trend of 2021, jumping by 62 per cent over the 12 months.
In a signal of long-term durability, digital subscriptions rose 47 per cent as people stayed at home during the Covid-19 crisis, according to credit card provider Barclaycard, which see about half of all credit and debit card purchases in the country.
The data underscored the shift away from shopping in high street stores during the pandemic, with online retailers receiving a 62 per cent uplift in sales, compared with brick-and-mortar shops.
“2021 was another challenging year, as the pandemic continued to hamper the UK economy,” said Jose Carvalho, head of consumer products at Barclaycard.
“However, categories such as local food retailers, takeaways and digital entertainment continued to do well, thanks to Britons’ demand for convenient, local, and at-home shopping experiences.
“In addition, with more time spent working from home, Britons continued to invest in their households, resulting in strong growth for both DIY and pet stores,” he said.
British households built up their savings to almost record levels at the start of this year, when the Covid-19 lockdown in England and tighter restrictions in other parts of the country limited opportunities to spend.
The saving ratio – the amount of money households have available to save as a percentage of their total disposable income – rose to almost 20 per cent from 16 per cent in the three months to the end of December 2020.
This was the second-highest level since records began in 1963.
It meant households started 2021 with money to spend with the lockdown at the start of the year, encouraging them to splash out on goods and experiences close to home.
Consumers also brought more pets into their homes, resulting in a 29.1 per cent jump in spending on vets and pet retailers.
Britons also stayed close to home for their holiday, with the boom in staycations helping UK hotels and resorts bounce back in the summer, with 3.7 per cent growth in June and a 15.9 per cent uplift in August.
Even when non-essential stores began to reopen and restrictions eased, consumers still focused on speed and ease and staying close to home.
Food and drink specialist stores, including butchers, greengrocers and meal-kit providers, saw particularly strong growth over the year – up by 74 per cent – as consumers relied on the convenience of local stores and delivery services for meals.
Another gainer in the insperience economy was electronics, which saw a 10.3 per cent rise in spending on items such as games consoles.
Meanwhile, with spending in the hospitality and leisure sectors down 18.5 per cent compared to 2019, sports and outdoor retailers gained from the reopening of gyms and golf clubs with the category up 21.9 per cent.
“It is encouraging to see that many categories have enjoyed growth in what has been another turbulent year,” said Clare Bailey, founder of the Retail Champion consultancy.
“Local shops continue to be supported by community-spirited Britons, while sports, clothing and health and beauty retailers all saw uplifts as the nation enjoyed post-lockdown life.”
The road ahead is less rosy for consumers, with British households facing “the year of the squeeze” in 2022 as soaring energy bills, rising taxes and high inflation eat into incomes.
Real wages will effectively stagnate next year, rising just 0.1 per cent, with families set to be £1,200-a-year worse off from April when a price cap on energy bills is raised and a tax increase comes into effect, according to the London-based Resolution Foundation think tank.
“Consumers and businesses are capable of adapting to and overcoming immense hardship,” Mr Carvalho said.
“I’m optimistic about the year ahead.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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More from Neighbourhood Watch
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Ferdous, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-3 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,400m
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6pm: UAE Arabian Derby Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 2,200m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Emirates Championship Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 2,200m
Winner: Somoud, Patrick Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Conditions (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Bairaq, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20Roundup
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Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
Results
5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).
6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.
9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Scoreline
Arsenal 3
Aubameyang (28'), Welbeck (38', 81')
Red cards: El Neny (90' 3)
Southampton 2
Long (17'), Austin (73')
Red cards: Stephens (90' 2)
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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