The UK consumer has decided to “keep calm and carry on” in the wake of Brexit, with a new report by HSBC suggesting that consumers remain “unfazed by current uncertainty” over the economy.
The report analysed spending habits in travel, leisure, food and retail, based on a survey of 2,000 people. The key worry identified was rising inflation, but with many failing to make the link between that and Brexit. Analysts at HSBC commented:
“We find this intriguing because the two are interlinked in our view, with rising living costs being at least partly a function of the Brexit vote.”
The fear of job losses represented a limited concern for the majority of those surveyed, with 48 percent of consumers expecting property values to rise in 2017.
HSBC analysts also noted the fact that more people said their disposable incomes had fallen over the last year – 32 percent – than risen – 20 percent, when in fact 2016 was a very good year for both employment and real wage growth. The report added:
” If households perceived their circumstances to have worsened last year, when in fact the data suggest they were improving, then how might they respond to the real wage falls we forecast for 2017?”
Other interesting findings include the fact that coffee drinking is on the rise and Costa is 3 times more visited than Starbucks in the UK.
Spirit drinkers prefer vodka and whisky, the nation’s favourite sportswear brand is Nike and most preferred luggage brand is Samsonite. And despite the weak pound, there is no sign of a decrease in holidays abroad in favour of a staycation in the UK.
HSBC ended the report with stock recommendations based on the findings, which includes FTSE 100 household names such as Whitbread (LON:WTB), Diageo (LON:DGE) and Tesco (LON:TSCO).