The team at www.carwow.co.uk, the online platform where consumers can research, compare and buy new and nearly-new cars polled more than 2,000 people living in different areas of the UK for the study.
When asked if an increase in disposable income had led to more time browsing online for items during lockdown, almost half (47%) admitted this was the case.
Whilst the easier to access, clothes (22%), DIY (14%) and homeware/interior products (12%) emerged as the most commonly perused items Britons are searching for during isolation; bigger spends are clearly still on consumers’ minds despite the current limitations, with one in 20 (6%) admitting they’ve been browsing for a new car and one in 11 (9%) already looking for holidays to take once travel restrictions have been lifted.
BMW (30%), Audi (27%) and Ford (16%) were the car brands most likely to be perused during lockdown.
Those in Scotland were ‘digital window shopping’ online the most (55%) followed by Londoners (52%) and those in the South East and Yorkshire (both 50%).
Taking it a step further and looking into actual purchases made by Britons, over a third of (35%) admitted to spending more money since the start of lockdown, and browsing for items to buy when they should be working from home.
When asked to state how much money they had spent on non-essential items since the beginning of lockdown (23 March) over a third (34%) had spent more than £100, whilst more than one in five (22%) had spent £101-£300 in this time.
Through this analysis, they discovered that men have spent an average of £20.35 more than women since the start of lockdown.
With the majority of Britons working from home, those in London (48%), Wales (44%) and Yorkshire (39%) were revealed as the most likely regions to be spending money online during their working hours.
Although spending more, 49% of Britons have not set an increased amount aside in savings during self-isolation. Northern Ireland residents are more likely to have saved money during lockdown (55%), more so than any other region, with Londoners the least likely (41%)
Vix Leyton, consumer expert at www.carwow.co.uk said, “With so much extra time on our hands, it’s no wonder we’re turning to browsing, in the absence of other distractions. But alongside the small treats we remind ourselves we deserve because we’re not spending money out and about, it’s interesting to see people planning their post-lockdown future.
“Having a fixed end goal or purchase in mind is clearly helping people to cope with life in lockdown as we approach May and the third month indoors, while we all know this time is absolutely essential, we can still daydream about an escape to the sun or the freedom of a brand new car. ”
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