What have UK consumers been buying in lockdown?

23rd April 2020

New spending data from Starling Bank reveals takeaway coffee has been traded for video games, online shopping and food deliveries.

VIDEO GAMES:
- Starling customers’ 7-day spend on Playstation and Nintendo increased by almost 300% (297.5%) between the week ending March 15 and that ending April 5.
FOOD DELIVERY
- Deliveroo’s sales to Starling customers remained broadly flat when comparing pre- and post-lockdown weekly receipts (down just 1%; possibly aided by increased alcohol and grocery deliveries).
RETAIL THERAPY
- Starling customers spent more through Amazon, with sales up 39% when comparing weeks ending March 15 and April 5.
- Other notable increases in Starling customer spending (for the same dates) is: Argos (+49%), ASOS (+12%), John Lewis (+13%) and Apple Store (+36%)
UK WIDE DATA
- Across the UK the average value of a transaction made by a Starling customer has risen significantly. The increase is far larger in London.
- The average transaction value of a Starling customer in London for the week ending March 22 was £53.57; two weeks later (week ending April 5) it more than doubled to £107.72 (+101%)
- Corresponding transaction data for other regions (using same dates):
  - South East £53.32/£86.75 (+62.7%);
  - South-West £45.67/£71.17 (+55.8%);
  - West Midlands £40.03/£64.76 (+61.8%);
  - North West £39.82/£61.08 (+53.4%);
  - North East £37.96/£55.39 (+46%);
  - Yorkshire £42.92/£64.32 (+49.9%);
  - Scotland £39.21/£62.83 (+60.2%);
  - Wales £42.20/£61.08 (+44.7%);
  - Northern Ireland £38.93/£53.51 (+37.5%)

COFFEE SHOPS
- Possibly part of the explanation for the drastic rise in average transaction values across the country, particularly in London and other more urban areas, is the closure of the coffee houses. Still serving millions of cups a day at circa £3 a time on March 15, Starling customers’ spent 99% less at Costa and Starbucks in the week ending April 5.
TRANSPORT
- Another explanation for the rise in Londoners’ average transaction value could be the abandonment of the Transport for London (TFL) network as companies imposed working from home restrictions, followed by the Government’s lockdown on March 23. TFL was the largest single transport spent item for Starling customers in the week ending March 15, dropping 93.3% by the week ending April 5 to 10th position.
- Uber dropped from Starling customers’ 4th largest transport spending category to 10th place, a drop of 84.3% between the weeks ending March 15 and April 5.
- Across a range of petrol stations, Starling customers’ total spend dropped by more than 50% (Week ending March 15 to April 5)
BOOTS
- Despite the medical nature of the current situation, the nation’s largest pharmacy chain, Boots, has seen a drop in transactions from Starling customers of 68.8% between weeks ending March 15 and April 5.

ONLINE Vs OFFLINE
- Recently we published data showing that online transactions now regularly make up more than half of the total transactions of Starling customers. This trend has continued. In April only Saturday, April 11th didn’t see online translations exceed those made in person.
- Online sales by % for April (1st-14th) were as follows: 60.0%, 58.2%, 55.9%, 54%, 57.8%, 55.4%, 54.5%, 54.1%, 54.5%, 53.4%, 49.5%, 62.8%, 57%, and 54.2%
- Online gambling has dropped by approximately 25% since the lockdown was imposed.

Content Director at 365 Retail | Website | + posts