UK retailer Asda has published its latest Income Tracker, which shows that despite an increase in household disposable income, spending was down 0.3%.
It found that average household disposable income in July increased by 11.7% year-on-year to £245 per week, reaching highs seen prior to the cost-of-living ‘crisis’.
Asda also found that UK households had saved an average of £122 per week in Q2 2024, a 12.3% increase year-on-year. It said that this suggested that households are using spare cash to top up the savings depleted due to cost-of-living concerns, and reported that the savings came as disposable income grew to £245 per week in July, the highest figure since March 2021.
In households above 65, Asda recorded the strongest disposable growth in July, with their disposable income now sitting above the UK average.
Reacting to this month’s Income Tracker, Sam Miley, managing economist and forecasting lead at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), who pulled together the report, said: “While household spending power has continued to grow, consumption has reduced within the same timeframe.
“This reflects the trend of households spending less and instead diverting more of their disposable income towards savings. Earnings growth continues to outpace inflation, so further improvements in discretionary income are expected across all age groups and other demographics.”
