Cebr, Which? and Forum for the Future worked together to produce this report, investigating what the state of the economy and the consumer environment will be like for the UK households in 2030.
Some of the key findings of the report include:
- By 2030, average weekly household disposable income could be just £589, which is below the 2008 peak of £605, and only just passing the 2012 level of £558.60.
- We could also see a substantial increase in the level of income inequality across the UK population. Our
research shows that in 1980, the gap between the percentage share of household spending on essentials in the 20% of households with the lowest incomes and the 20% of households with the highest incomes was 5.8 percentage points. By 2010, this gap had grown to 6.4 percentage points, and by 2030, our forecasts suggest that it could rise further
to 7.4 percentage points. - The impact of these trends on consumer wellbeing are palpable. Our analysis of the BHPS and Understanding Society datasets shows that the percentage of people in the second-lowest income group who think that they are living comfortably, fell from 69% in 2003 to 48% in 2010. Such a dramatic fall is thrown into sharp relief by the satisfaction levels of the highest-earning group, shifting by six percentage points from 88% in 2003 to 82% in 2010.
Please download the full report below, or head over to the Which? website to find out more information.