New tool provides insight into UK cost of living crisis

Marketers having sleeping nights about how they can adapt their activity during the cost of living crisis are being offered comfort with the release of a new profiling tool which identifies 14 separate groups of people.

Dubbed StrappedUK, the tool has been developed by Metrix Data Science and is designed to help marketers with offer product selection or simply how to talk to individual groups.

Based on how much each group has seen their living costs increase and their ability to pay, the segments are characterised by two scores: a Stress Score and an Increase Cost Score.

The Stress Score is a metric of affordability – the higher the Stress Score the harder it is for these people to physically pay for things. People with very high stress typically fall into fuel poverty.

The Increase Costs Score illustrates the extent to which everyday costs have risen for that segment.

Overall, nearly 90% reported an increase in their cost of living over the previous month, while 40% reported that it was very or somewhat difficult to afford their energy bills. A similar proportion (43%) reported that they would not be able to save money in the next 12 months.

At one end of the scale there are households who simply cannot meet their weekly bills and have to live off buy now pay later schemes, sub prime loans and food banks; on the other side of the coin are those who can cover these increased with ease.

Marketers could be forgiven for thinking that those with the most Stress make the biggest efforts to change their spending habit and those with the lowest Stress make no changes as they can afford it.

However, during the analysis, Metrix Data Science found the dynamics where very different, with groups like Eat Now Pay Later, a less affluent group suffering massive Stress level simply burying their heads in the sand.

Meanwhile, groups like Coupon Cutters and Blessed not stressed – both well off groups who can afford the cost of living inflation – bending over backwards to make saving on principle.

In fact some households in these groups are reducing their energy bills to levels prior to the recent increases, and those not car dependent are walking more – these groups have the resources and time to see it as a challenge, as they would the Daily Telegraph crossword.

More information is available on the Metrix Data Science website>