Wolverhampton trumps London on food spending, says research
According to the latest research by VoucherCodes.co.uk, Brits are spending considerably less money on food than they did four years ago.
The average overall spend on food has fallen by 14 per cent since 2013; saving the average UK adult around £601 a year. The biggest savings are down to cutting back on the frequency of takeaway meals and eating out reveals VoucherCodes.co.uk’s Annual Food Spend Study.
VoucherCodes.co.uk's study into how much UK adults are spending on groceries, takeaways and meals at bars and restaurants, found that the average British adult now forks out £3,680 on food each year, that’s £43 less than at the start of 2015, £177 less than 2014 and a striking £601 less than 2013.
According to the research, grocery expenditure has fallen by six per cent since 2013, but the biggest saving on food comes from cutting back on the amount of takeaways consumed. Brits have reduced their takeaway intake down from 133 annually in 2015, to a more wallet and waistline friendly 121 in 2016. Almost half of the people questioned (47 per cent) agreed that they eat less takeaways now than they did four years ago and, as a result, over the past four years Brits have managed to reduce their spending on takeaways by 28 per cent.
On average Brits now cook from scratch around four times a week. When asked why they opt to cook a meal at home, 50 per cent of people cited that they do so because it is cheaper and 51 per cent agreed that cooking at home is healthier. All this home cooking means Brits have also been able to slice spending on eating out with the average adult now spending 25 per cent less on meals out than they did in 2013 – a significant annual saving of £213*.
Men, it seems are the savviest shoppers when it comes to overall food spending. Despite forking out more than women when it comes to takeaways and eating out, around £30 more per year, women splash more cash on groceries, spending £213 more on food at the shops. That means the average UK male now saves £183 more on overall food spend compared to his female counterpart.
Regionally, people living in Aberystwyth are found to the be the most frugal on food spending, with an outlay of £3,302 per annum, that’s 10 per cent lower than the national average and 23 per cent lower than the city with the biggest spend on food - Wolverhampton. Wolverhampton residents spend £4,314 on food and the city has taken the top spot from last year’s big spenders, London, who have been delegated to second with an outlay of £4,247 each year. Those living in the capital pay 14 per cent more than the national average for food.
Anita Naik, lifestyle editor of Vouchercodes.co.uk, said: “It’s really great to see British consumers showcasing their savvy shopping habits and spending so much less on food overall. Just making a few easy tweaks when it comes to the weekly shop, such as taking advantage of supermarket sales, and limiting food waste can save you hundreds of pounds over the year.
“Although spending on takeaways and eating out has significantly lowered and saved UK families a tidy sum, eating out is still a preferable and regular food choice for many. Those hanging up the oven gloves for the night should always check online for voucher codes before ordering as many of the UK's favourite takeaways and restaurants offer discounts of up to 50 per cent with a voucher (and many have offers where kids eat free)! So with a bit of savvy shopping it’s easy to treat the family to a meal out without breaking the bank.”
