News

• Nationwide’s Spending Report shows total number of transactions made in Q2 up 20% on Q1
• Non-essential spending up 60%, boosted by holidays, eating/drinking out, gardening & leisure
• £133.7 million spent on charities between April and June – 16% up on the first 3 months of 2021
• Contactless boom continues: mobile payments up 70% on the first quarter of the year
• Travelling again: spend on taxis above pre-pandemic levels; public transport spend still down

• Research from Nationwide highlights interest in green but lack of knowledge or action
• Urgent need to green homes – despite half of Brits saying they are environmentally friendly
• 53% don’t know what CO² means, 75% what net-zero means and 90% what EPC means
• Nationwide’s £1 billion loan fund is available for borrowers to green their homes

• Research from UK Consumer Insight Panel shows lockdown has flipped nation’s priorities
• UK optimism rises, but caution leads to households prioritising savings over spending
• Despite savings made by many, 1 in 4 households see savings reduce because of Covid
• More people shunning ‘live for today’ mantra than endorsing it for the first time in 22 years
• Panel outlines trends they are seeing, from rising footfall and optimism to worries about finances
• Call for government and business to encourage smarter spending that supports a green recovery, wellbeing for lowest earners and champions safety for consumers

• Nationwide Spending Report shows Q1 essential and discretionary spend down year on year
• Essential spending down 3.4% while non-essential spending reduces 14.9%
• Brits spending more on emotional connections vs 2020 – from dating to gardening and pets
• Department store spending also soars as people continue to order from comfort of their home
• Spend via mobile payments jumps by 47% due to lower cash usage; credit card spend falls 23%

• Nine in ten of Gen-Z (aged 16-24) are investors or have considered investing
• Two fifths of this age group expect to make big gains from investing
• Almost half of Gen-Z learned about investing from watching Hollywood films
• Younger generation believe they will see returns considerably faster

Children get the chance to make their mark on football in new FA & Nationwide Building Society campaign

• As more turn to investments, 22% don’t know how to check if an investment company is genuine
• Nationwide Building Society’s own data reveals a rise in investment scams over the last year
• 15% of victims would proceed if someone said they could get money back for a fee, and would continue with the scam
• But only 44% of investment scam victims would think about telling their bank or building society

More than two million privately rented households in the UK have no insurance policy on their properties, despite the contents of an average property amounting to £25,126, according to a new poll.

The gap in cover is shown in new research by Nationwide Building Society as it highlights the need to protect belongings in homes, regardless of whether they are owned or rented.

• Research from Nationwide reveals Brits spent £8,465 on entertainment at home
• National poll comes as UK marks a year of lockdown measures on March 24
• Amazon, clothes, takeaways, and DIY ranked in league table of spend
• Eats and treats offset as Brits exercise more and keep in touch with friends & family

• Impact on wellbeing of homeworkers with children significantly worse than those without
• Despite homeworking and home-schooling pressures, Nationwide and Ipsos MORI research reveals 6 in 10 with kids at home say remote working leads to better work-life balance
• Women working remotely with children at home more likely than men to report that their mental health got worse because of Covid-19, according to the research
• Nationwide calls on UK employers to consider what flexible working should mean at a time the nation slowly eases out of lockdown as the vaccine rollout continues
• Flexible working champion Anna Whitehouse, known as ‘Mother Pukka’, launches findings alongside Nationwide

• Covid-19 has long-term impact on importance of savings, particularly for younger people
• Brits prepare for post-lockdown ‘sunny day’ plans with holidays top of nation’s wish-list
• Five and half months is how long people believe they need to save to realise future plans
• Nearly four in ten add to savings since first lockdown, including one in four lower earners
• But despite positive savings signs, many are still struggling to build a financial buffer

• New advertising campaign looks to the future and people’s plans post-lockdown
• Aims to build on savings momentum Nationwide encouraged through Payday Saveday
• Forms part of Society’s ‘Voices’ campaign; runs across both TV and newspapers