Our UK Consumer Financial Resilience market report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, and will help you understand the needs of your audience during uncertain times.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Our Report Delivers Insights into the Following Topics
- Recent developments in consumer financial resilience.
- Analysis of savings, investment and insurance product ownership.
- Assessment of consumers’ ability to withstand a financial shock and expected actions to improve their situation following this period.
- Analysis of satisfaction with financial services brands’ support measures.
- Attitudes towards financial resilience.
UK Consumer Financial Resilience – Current Overview
The cost-of-living crisis has eroded UK consumer financial wellbeing and confidence. Savings and investments form an important part of consumer financial resilience. While most adults have cash savings and/or investments, a fifth have no savings, leaving themselves exposed to instant and severe difficulties in the event of an unexpected bill or disruption to their income. A sizable minority of Brits can therefore be considered vulnerable and likely to require extra support from their bank or insurer.Â
However, when faced with financial difficulties, many consumers appear to find banks and insurers unapproachable. Under half of consumers struggling consumers trust financial service providers to offer impartial support, and 68% would rather speak to friends and family about their finances than a bank or insurer. Efforts to build trust are a long-term challenge for the market, but the upcoming Consumer Duty regulation should help.
To discover more about UK Consumer Financial Resilience and what your brand can do to respond to changing consumer demands, purchase our full market report. If you look like to learn more about the UK Finance Industry, explore our extensive financial services market research.
Expert Analysis from a Financial Services Specialist
This report, written by Natasha Hayes, a leading financial services analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis of the current state of UK consumer financial resilience and wellbeing.
Consumers continue to endure a prolonged income squeeze and survival is a priority. Longer-term financial resilience has not been forgotten and saving for the future is engrained in consumer behaviour, but is a secondary concern for many. While savings are key, consumers must not forget about other financial products that can help boost resilience.
Natasha Hayes
Senior Financial Services Analyst
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Overview
- Key issues covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
- The market
- Majority of consumers have cash savings or investments
- Figure 1: Value of cash savings and investments, 2023
- FCA enforces new Consumer Duty from 31 July 2023
- Inflation continues to erode consumer confidence
- Rising bank rate improves outcomes for savers
- The consumer
- Cash and investments form an important part of financial resilience
- Figure 2: Savings and investment product ownership, 2023
- Monthly top-ups are most popular
- Figure 3: Frequency of savings and/or investment contributions, 2023
- Home and motor are most popular insurance products
- Figure 4: Financial product ownership, 2023
- Lack of financial resilience among women highlights gender finance gap
- Figure 5: Financial confidence in the event of losing the main source of income, by gender, 2023
- Rebuilding financial resilience focuses on savings
- Figure 6: Actions to improve financial resilience after six months without the main source of household income, 2023
- One in five are very satisfied with support from current account providers
- Figure 7: Overall satisfaction with main current account provider for support measures provided, 2023
- Satisfaction is highest with direct communications
- Figure 8: Satisfaction with main current account provider for support measures provided, 2023
- Consumers would rather speak to friends and family about finances
- Figure 9: Attitudes towards consumer financial resilience, 2023
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Issues and Insights
- Innovative savings tools can help consumers navigate the cost of living crisis
- Improve outreach to those in financial difficulty
- Extra support required to address gender finance gap
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Developments in Consumer Financial Resilience
- Cash and investments form an important part of financial resilience
- Figure 10: Value of cash savings and investments, 2023
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- Figure 11: Financial situation, by total value of cash savings, 2023
- FCA enforces new Consumer Duty from 31 July 2023
- FCA conducts third Financial Lives survey
- Changes may be made to level of savings protection
- Zopa and ClearScore collaborate to launch 2025 Fintech Pledge
- Concerns that cost of living crisis has raised minimum cost of retirement
- Cash and investments form an important part of financial resilience
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Market Drivers
- Consumers remain concerned about their future finances
- Figure 12: Consumer financial confidence tracker, 2016-23
- Cost of living crisis depletes pandemic savings…
- …and worsens consumers’ financial situation
- Figure 13: Changes in financial situation over the past year, 2016-23
- Interest rate increases hit mortgage holders…
- Figure 14: Bank of England official bank rate, 2016-23
- …but help savers
- Figure 15: Average monthly quoted household deposit and cash ISA interest rates, 2016-23
- Consumers remain concerned about their future finances
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Savings and Investment Product Ownership
- Nearly three in four consumers have savings or investment products
- Figure 16: Savings and investment product ownership, 2023
- Over half of savers deposit money on a monthly basis…
- Figure 17: Frequency of savings and/or investment contributions, 2023
- …but one in 10 add to their savings less than once a year
- Encourage women to think strategically about savings and investments
- Figure 18: Value of cash savings and investments, by gender, 2023
- Nearly three in four consumers have savings or investment products
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Other Financial Product Ownership
- Home and motor are most popular insurance products
- Figure 19: Financial product ownership, 2023
- Auto-enrolment boosts pension participation
- Figure 20: Pension ownership, by generation, 2023
- Tailored advice can help to boost protection insurance uptake among women
- A quarter of uninsured consumers would not withstand six months without their main source of income
- Figure 21: Financial confidence, by savings/investment account and other financial product ownership, 2023
- Home and motor are most popular insurance products
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Financial Resilience
- Just one in four describe their finances as healthy
- Figure 22: Household financial situation, 2023
- Low financial resilience among women highlights gender finance gap…
- Figure 23: Financial confidence in the event of losing the main source of income, by gender, 2023
- …offering opportunities for affordable female-focused platforms
- Just one in four describe their finances as healthy
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Actions to Improve Financial Resilience
- Rebuilding financial resilience focuses on savings
- Figure 24: Actions to improve financial resilience after six months without the main source of household income, 2023
- Risk aversion dampens appetite for investing, especially among women
- Rebuilding financial resilience focuses on savings
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Satisfaction with Financial Services Brands
- One in five are very satisfied with support from current account providers
- Figure 25: Overall satisfaction with main current account provider for support measures provided, 2023
- Satisfaction is highest with direct communications
- Figure 26: Satisfaction with main current account provider for support measures provided, 2023
- Opportunities to improve satisfaction among struggling customers
- Older generations need most encouragement to use online services
- One in five are very satisfied with support from current account providers
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Key Driver Analysis for Support Measures from Current Account Providers
- Prioritise money management tools
- Figure 27: Key drivers of overall satisfaction with support measures from current account providers, 2023
- Promoting availability of support staff will help with Consumer Duty obligations
- Maintain emergency support measures
- Prioritise money management tools
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Attitudes towards Financial Resilience
- Consumers would rather speak to friends and family about finances…
- Figure 28: Attitudes towards consumer financial resilience, 2023
- …especially those not in full-time employment
- Figure 29: Consumer financial resilience – CHAID – Tree output, 2023
- Opportunities to build trust among struggling consumers
- Figure 30: Trust in financial services providers to offer impartial support to struggling customers, by financial situation, 2023
- Younger generations misunderstand what affects credit records
- Figure 31: Concerns over impact of talking to bank about financial situation on credit file, by age, 2023
- Consumers would rather speak to friends and family about finances…
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Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- CHAID Analysis Methodology
- Figure 32: Consumer financial resilience – CHAID – Table output, 2023
- Key Driver Analysis Methodology
- Interpretation of results
- Figure 33: Overall satisfaction with support measures from current account providers – key driver output, 2023
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- Figure 34: Satisfaction with support measures from current account providers, 2023
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