According to UK grocery chain Asda, one fifth of British households experienced “negative disposable income” in the past month, meaning they had less money to spend on necessities than they had in their monthly paycheck.
Consumer confidence in Britain is at an all-time low as people struggle to keep up with the rising expense of living. Wages are not keeping up with inflation, which reached a 40-year high of 9.4% in June and is on pace to reach double digits.
Families with low incomes are particularly suffering.
According to the Asda Income Tracker, 20% of UK households had negative disposable income in June, with an average weekly shortfall of £71.91 ($60.91) between what they made and what they had to spend on necessities like groceries, gas, electricity, transportation, mortgage interest payments, and rent or mortgage payments.
According to figures from Asda, the third-largest grocery chain in the country behind Tesco and Sainsbury’s, average household disposable income in June fell by a record 18% year over year, to 43.95 pounds per week, or 175.80 pounds per month.
After paying for necessities, the average household had 200 pounds per week left over last month. This amount has decreased for eight straight months to a level last seen in December 2017.
In response to the crisis, Britons are reducing their consumption of both goods and services, moving from branded to less expensive private label products and from mainstream supermarkets to discounters.
Additionally, they are buying fewer takeout meals, fewer car trips, canceling streaming subscriptions, and home appliance repair warranties. They are also reducing their fuel consumption.
