Younger generation cut spending on hospitality, leisure

In its latest consumer risk survey, PwC found that over half of all age groups are “very concerned” about day-to-day living costs and there has been a major shift since last year’s survey with the public’s concerns moving from health to the cost of living.

The survey found that to try and save money, over half of Gen Z and Millennials are either reducing or stopping eating out (69 per cent), subscriptions to their streaming/TV services (57 per cent), and going on holidays (58 per cent). This compares to only 51 per cent, 28 per cent, and 37 per cent, respectively, in the over-55 age group.

The younger generation is also planning to be more financially resilient overall with 42 per cent saying they plan to “save money” more in the next 12 months, compared to 27 per cent of all adults and 15 per cent of over-55s.

Additionally, more 18–34-year-olds (38 per cent) said they plan to learn more about personal finance over the next year, compared to 25 per cent of 35–54-year-olds and 13 per cent of over-55s.

Bobbie Ramsden-Knowles, crisis and resilience partner at PwC UK, said the changing concerns of the UK public over the last 12 months show how fast-moving and unpredictable risk is and how quickly it can shape people’s behaviours.

“Organisations must rethink their approach to resilience to not only get ahead, but also better anticipate and adapt to the rapidly-shifting behaviours and spending habits of customers, employees and stakeholders to mitigate the impact,” he said.

Compared to last year’s survey — conducted while the UK was still heavily impacted by the pandemic — the public’s concerns have moved away from health to financial worries. Over half of all respondents said that they are “very concerned” about day-to-day living costs (54 per cent), their biggest concern, followed by a potential recession (45 per cent), climate change (44 per cent), global conflict and unrest (41 per cent), and increasing taxes (40 per cent). Last year one of the biggest concerns was around pandemics and other health crises.

In addition, when asked which issues will have the most impact on them over the next 12 months, 54 per cent of respondents said “day to day living costs” will have a high or very high impact on their daily lives. This is followed by “a potential recession” (41 per cent) and “increased taxes” (38 per cent).

However, these financial pressures aren’t felt evenly across all age groups with the greatest anticipated impact among the younger cohort.

Underlining the financial pressure that the younger generation is under, just over half (51 per cent) said they would take a position that pays more, over one with job security. This compares with 58 per cent of respondents across all age groups saying that they would take a more secure job that pays less in the current environment. 

In addition, just over half (51 per cent) of the over-55 age group said they value job satisfaction over security, which suggests they are under less financial stress and can prioritise doing work they enjoy over security or money.