Suggestion: Advocate for Creative Holiday Payments: Which?
- Peter Johnson
- Dec 6, 2023
- 2 min read
As suggested by a recent Which? study, in anticipation of the upcoming holidays, creative payment alternatives need to be employed to ensure that an increasing number of households do not miss essential payments.
The Consumer Insight Tracker from Which? recently recorded a 9.8 percent rate of family households having missed or not made payments on loans, credit cards, bills, or housing costs in November. The amount of households that reported this, 2.8 million, is the highest volume recorded since April 2020.
Around 8.8% of renters admitted to having missed making a payment, 5.6% of those paying household bills (e.g. electricity and water), 5.3% of those with credit cards or loans, and 2.9% of mortgage holders similarly missed a payment.
To be able to cover the cost of essentials prior to the 10th of November, 57% of those polled declared making at least one modification, like spending less on needs, withdrawing from their reserves, getting rid of possessions, or going into debt.
Rocio Concha, head of policy and advocacy for Which?, has asserted that they are strongly urging businesses in the essential sectors of food, energy, and telecoms providers to take all the necessary measures to assist their customers in getting a fair deal and preventing any costly and unjust charges this winter.
It is worrisome that one out of every ten families failed to meet their requisite payments within the last month. With the arrival of Christmas and the colder winter season, financial stress on households will only increase in the foreseeable future.
Despite the fact that consumer anxiety is high, nearly 85% of respondents express anxieties concerning growing energy bills, and 83% are concerned about the soaring cost of food; additionally, nearly 79% voice worries about the increasing cost of fuel.
For two months in a row, consumer confidence in their current financial situations and the UK economy as a whole has dropped. More than half of those polled predict a downturn in the economy in the foreseeable future, whereas only sixteen percent remain positive for an improvement. This results in a net confidence score of -37, an entire 10 points lower than two months ago.
There has been a drop in the consumer ratings of their own household finances this month, with the score decreasing from +21 to +14. This persisting downward trend in consumer confidence since the commencement of the crisis, due to escalating costs of living, is highlighted by the data.
The data paints a bleak outlook as the holiday season nears. Which? is pressing essential businesses, such as energy companies, telecoms, and grocery stores, to bolster their customer service and value-for-money offerings.
Theresa McEndree, Chief Marketing Officer for the recurring billing platform, asserts that Online merchants are transitioning towards data-driven subscription models that can provide more personalized experiences.
She stressed that brands should delve more deeply into consumer insights to generate personalised interactions, with the aim of improving the overall experience by introducing AI-powered suggestions and promoting engagement between users.”
Being sustainable and ethical is necessary for achieving credibility and authenticity. It is not only necessary to meet consumer expectations, but to also go beyond and try to foresee them in order to build strong relationships that go beyond simple transactions.
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