TopCashback Community Lockdown Trends

The vast majority of you will not have experienced a year quite like 2020, and the same goes for us here at TopCashback.

For example, our team has pretty much been exclusively working from home for the past seven months. We’ve still worked tirelessly to save you, as much money as possible, which we’re sure you’ve been even more eager to do during these uncertain times.

You’ve probably found your spending habits have changed quite significantly since March, when lockdown measures were first introduced.

For example, you might have swapped meals out for takeaway treats, foreign holidays for staycations, workwear for comfy loungewear, trips to the cinema for Netflix or splurging for saving.

While we’re sure there are some things you’ve all missed doing during this time, like we all have, it’s also probably true that you’ve discovered something new to enjoy.

Perhaps you’ve spent more time with your family because you’ve been working from home. You might have had the time to finish all those annoying DIY jobs you’ve been putting off for ages or you might have explored more wonderful UK attractions because you’ve not been able to go on a summer holiday abroad.

We’ve certainly noticed some changes when it comes to what members of the TopCashback Community have been spending money on, and we thought we’d share some insights with you to see if they relate to your own experiences of lockdown.

Let’s take a look at some of our key categories.

Takeaways

Not surprisingly, we saw takeaway transactions increase from March to June as many of you opted for an extra slice or two of pizza or treated yourselves to a dessert on top with lockdown restrictions meaning you couldn’t go out for a meal.

As an example, after lockdown was announced, we noticed the order value for Just Eat transactions leapt almost immediately by 5%.

As you would expect, takeaway transactions began to decline when pubs and restaurants reopened, although they’ve remained above pre-lockdown levels.

Travel

While foreign getaways have been off the cards for many this summer, it’s great to see many of you have been holidaying at home this year.

The number of travel transactions dropped significantly at the beginning of lockdown, although they began to recover in June following the easing of restrictions by the Government.

In fact, the day after the Government announcement on June 22nd, we saw more than a 100% increase on travel comparison, a 75% increase on accommodation and a 50% increase on package holidays.

In terms of these bookings, 83% were for 2020 breaks and 70% were for holidays in the UK.

Savings

While some may have found lockdown tough financially because of their job situation, the fact others have been working from home — resulting in a reduction in commuting costs — and not going out as much has resulted in members wanting to save more.

In June, we noticed more members taking out savings offers, while fewer were looking to take advantage of credit card offers.

Insurance

Lockdown has also had an impact on insurance transactions, perhaps due to people not using their cars as much and being at home more.

There was a sharp decline in terms of year-on-year transactions up to and including the first period of lockdown.

Then, the day after the Government urged people to go back to work in May, there was a massive upswing of around 200%.

Fashion

While members might not be buying the same items, with many working from home more and going out less, the fashion category has maintained its popularity throughout the pandemic.

Have your shopping and spending habits changed as a result of lockdown? If so, why don’t you let us now in the comments section below.

Your Lockdown Purchases

What do sea monkeys, an engagement ring, and a weekend bag in the shape of a coffin have in common? No, this is not a terrible joke. These are just three of the many random, and in some cases regrettable, purchases people were buying over lockdown.

From research we conducted, here are our top 10 purchases our members regretted buying during lockdown (let us know yours in the comments below):

1. 60 packs of bulk buy prawn noodles, when I’m allergic to seafood.
2. I’ve bought 3 different sized disco balls and a large ceramic pineapple. I don't know where all the disco balls will go.
3. An inflatable canoe. What was I thinking?
4. A gazebo, I live in a flat.
5. An engagement ring was my stupidest expense.
6. A light up sheep for my back garden! My grandchildren keep knocking it over and it no longer works, I have no idea why I bought it!
7. A fish tank. But I don’t have any fish. The tank was on sale so thought I would just get the fish later. Never have. Don’t know if I ever will?!
8. A really fancy bed for my cat although she's never slept on a cat bed in her life and won't use it.
9. A wig! For some unknown reason I bought a bright pink long wig that I wouldn't even wear outside in the street.
10. A 7-foot inflatable elephant from Amazon. It was about £250, and we thought it would be great in the garden to cheer us up and make the neighbours laugh. We chased it down the path when the wind / thunder and lightning happened and had to bring it in the house for a few days. We didn’t want to let the air out because it took so long to blow up. It’s the worst idea we ever had.