IPA TouchPoints: consumers spend an hour more at home compared to pre-pandemic

Consumers now spend 66 more minutes on average at home every day compared to pre-lockdown in 2020, new data shows.

The latest IPA TouchPoints 2023 research found average hours spent inside the home now sits at 18 hours and 43 minutes per day, compared to 17 hours and 37 minutes per day in pre-lockdown 2020. This was attributed at least in part to the growing pressures of the cost of living.

Josh Krichefski, IPA President and CEO, EMEA & UK, GroupM said IPA TouchPoints data “plays a crucial role” in combatting the danger of looking at data and numbers without “fully appreciating the people and story behind them”.

He added: “We can see from the latest TouchPoints data the significant impact of the cost-of-living crisis on consumers’ lives. As financial burdens increase, halting both our short and longer-terms plans, it is imperative that brands and their agencies are mindful of these challenges and work to understand the role we can play in helping to add value to consumers’ lives at this tough time.”

As more time is being spent inside, shopping was shown to have declined.

For example, the weekly reach of supermarkets (63.3%), the high street (33.6%), shopping centre (19.3%) and out-of-town retail parks (14.2%) have all fallen between 3% and 17% compared to pre-lockdown 2020.

At the same time, local shops’ weekly reach stayed the same at 36.5%, and online shopping was marginally up from 49.4% in 2020 to 50.7% in 2023.

More ways to save money on the weekly shop

The data further revealed the growing challenges consumers are facing with the cost-of-living crisis with nearly four in 10 (37.6%) saying they “aren’t coping on their current salary”, an increase from 32.6% pre-lockdown, and 30.7% amidst pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

For those on the lowest income level and from disadvantaged groups this is nearly double with six in ten (60%) reporting they were not coping on their current salaries.

More consumers were also consolidating their debts and/or re-mortgaging compared to six months ago, an increase of 168% from 2.2% in 2022 to 5.9% now. This is up 34% since pre-lockdown in 2020.

The IPA TouchPoints data also showed more than half of consumers are looking for “the lowest possible prices” (60.9%) and money-off vouchers (41.6%) when they do go shopping. This up 11% and 31.7% on levels three years ago.

There has also been an increase of between 13% and 15% across the board in money-saving habits since pre-pandemic, such as being willing to switch brands to use a coupon (52.9%), going to a range of supermarkets and shops for weekly grocery shopping to get the best prices (42.7%), and comparing with online product prices (28.3%).

Delaying long term plans

Another finding was that more people from all generations are delaying plans for the next 12 months because of “the knock-on effect of financial struggles”.

More people at the beginning, middle and end of their careers are putting off future plans including attending a university course, moving out of their parents’ home, switching jobs, changing careers, starting a new business or retiring compared to pre-lockdown 2020.