NEW DELHI: As the cost of living goes up due to record-high inflation, consumers are cutting back on several household expenses. According to data compiled by market research firm YouGov, 46% of urban Indians said their cost of living has gone up substantially while for three in 10 (31%), it has gone up a little in the past 12 months.
“With inflation at its highest level in the past eight years, petrol prices spiralling and wholesale price inflation at a 30-year high, cost of living in India has gone up in recent past,” the market research firm said. Data shows residents in tier-1 cities are likely to feel a greater impact, with half of them claiming their cost of living has gone up substantially, as compared to 44% and 43% of residents in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, respectively, who said the same about their situation.
The impact has led people to make cutbacks to their household spending in many areas since December 2021, said the survey. “Clothing tops the list with over a third (35%) saying they have cut spending on clothes, apparel and accessories. As many as (31%) have reduced their spending on hobbies or leisure activities like going to the cinema.”
With the recent increase in fuel prices, nearly 29% claim to have cut their expenses on petrol/diesel, while 28% have decreased their spending on eating out and 15% have done so for F&B deliveries. The survey notes that this behaviour is more noticeable in tier-1 cities.
Over a fifth have also limited their spending on services like grooming & wellness and gyms (23% and 19%, respectively). At the same time, nearly a quarter have cut down expenses on streaming services, according to the survey, but this is notably higher in tier-1 cities where 32% have claimed to do so in the last 6 months. Comparatively, lesser cutbacks have been made on staple food items (12%), broadband subscriptions (15%) and household essentials (18%), as these are more of necessities.