FNB’s card data shows that individual customers are spending more of their income on groceries and entertainment, which includes out-of-home experiences such as eating out.
Today, groceries account for 28% of customer spend, compared to 27% last year, and entertainment is at 12%, compared to 11.5% last year. The current top three spend categories are groceries, transportation, and entertainment, respectively.
Lytania Johnson, CEO of FNB personal segment, says: “Food and transport generally make up a significant portion of spend among many consumers, especially those in these income segments. Therefore, any increase in costs in these categories will always require households to review their monthly budgets. Unfortunately, food costs have largely been influenced by local and global economic factors that consumers cannot control.”
According to Senzo Nsibande, the FNB Card CEO: “It is not surprising to see groceries and transport at the top of the list, as both food and fuel have been among the largest contributors to high inflation.
“Interestingly, in the entertainment category, we see largely middle and affluent-income consumers spending more on out-of-home experiences such as eating out, going to movie theatres, and bookstores, among others. This may be due to a combination of factors, such as people finding ways to mitigate the impact of loadshedding on domestic activities and an increasing desire to spend time outdoors.”