Under-30s hit hardest in cost-of-living crisis says Asda Income Tracker

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 28, 2023

The inconsistent nature of recent trading reports (with retailers like M&S doing well, but others like Boohoo, struggling) can be partially explained following a new report this week from Asda. Its latest Income Tracker shows that it's the youngest consumers who are most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.

It said “the youngest in society are suffering the most with their discretionary income down by 17.5% year on year in January”.

While all age groups saw disposable incomes (after paying taxes and essential bills) falling last month to an average of £215 a week, it was the under-30s who were worst off, with just an average discretionary income of just £153 per week.

Average annual gross income grew 5.4% to £954 a week in January, but as younger people spend a greater proportion of their income on housing and utilities, which continue to have the highest rates of inflation, this is clearly denting spend at the fashion stores they’re most likely to patronise.

And with the news that the typical annual household bill for gas and electricity is to rise in April, this trend looks set to continue.

By contrast, those aged 50-64 saw their overall spending power reduced by only 2.7% compared to last January, and they still had an average of £307 per week free to spend.