RENOVATION NATION GETS STUCK IN
It seems the months spent at home have been put to good use as the nation reflected on their living space and chose to spend an average of just over £4,000 each on renovating their homes, since lockdown commenced in March. A study1 has highlighted that the key area for improvement has been upgrades to the garden (34%), with living room (23%), bedroom (22%) and kitchen (22%) improvements also featuring in the top four. With garden improvements in the top spot, it’s no surprise that lockdown prompted people to enjoy their outside space, in fact Gardeners World received its highest ratings in a decade as people took to their gardens up and down the country.
‘Zoombarrassment’ motivates the nation
To fund these projects, it seems nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents deflected money set aside for a holiday, while 26% raided their savings pot. Homeowner motivation to embark on these projects ranged from adding value (27%), with 40% citing ‘Zoombarrassment’ over the appearance of their homes, as the reason for renovation!
KISS YOUR CASH GOODBYE
“Sorry, we don’t accept cash” has become a familiar refrain in shops and eateries in recent months due to fears that handling cash could accelerate the spread of the virus. So, are we on our way to a cashless society?
Predictions of the death of cash are not solely a result of the pandemic. Discourse surrounding the ‘cashless society’ pre-dates lockdown by many years and trends such as the introduction of online and mobile banking, the disappearance of ATM machines and the rise of contactless payments have long been features of modern society.
The cashless society?
There is no doubt that the pandemic has accelerated this trend, with credit and debit card usage soaring. The maximum contactless spend was recently upped to £45 to facilitate this, with 66% of Mastercard transactions in the UK now contactless and 45% of people stating they have used cash less during the crisis (1).
However, research states that cash is still a necessity for 25 million people (2). A 100% cashless society assumes that every person has the means, technological know-how and ability to pay by card for every transaction. So, while the grip of cash on Britain is undoubtedly being eroded, it will be important to maintain access to cash for certain groups of society, including the elderly.
(1) Mastercard, 2020
(2) Age UK, 2020