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Has the recession affected your tech spending?

10th September 2013 Print

More than half of us (53%) would be unwilling to give up our mobile/ smartphone contracts in order to save money, and 76 per cent would be unwilling to go without home internet even if their finances were in dire straits, according to a new YouGov survey.

Carried out on behalf of Leeds Building Society, the survey quizzed 2,241 adults online on how their spending has changed over the past two years - and with almost two in five of us (39%) now spending less than we did in 2011, the figures reveal just how much our priorities are changing.

Of the 39 per cent of people who said they were spending "a little less" or "a lot less" than they did two years ago, the highest proportion - 77 per cent - said they were cutting back on entertainment such as cinema tickets and eating in restaurants. The next biggest casualty was alcoholic drinks bought out, with 64 per cent of people saying they now spent less on drinking with friends in bars and clubs.

However, just 14 per cent had cut back on home internet services, and 25 per cent said they now spent less on mobile services - although this may mean they have switched to a cheaper tariff rather than abandoning their smartphones altogether. Only 17 per cent of respondents overall said they would be willing to give up their home internet services if it came to the crunch, although a much greater proportion - 38 per cent - would consider giving up their mobile services.

Regionally, people in London were the least likely to give up their home internet arrangements (83%) or mobile services (64%). The 25 to 34-year-old age group was the most unwilling to reduce their outgoings on smartphone bills, while - perhaps surprisingly - it was those aged 55 and over who were least likely to slash their spending on home broadband services.

"These results indicate that technology, and communications technology in particular, is increasingly being seen as a necessity rather than an avoidable expense by many people," said Gary Brook, Head of Corporate Communications at Leeds Building Society. "It's interesting to note that the older generation is even less willing to part with home broadband than their younger counterparts, suggesting that for this generation online services have become more valuable than ever."