Brands from every sector are being warned that personal finance has become top-of-mind for many consumers since the general election, with speculation about pension raids and tax hikes adding to concerns about the winter fuel payment cuts for pensioners.
While the most recent IPA Touchpoints study revealed no end in sight for the cost of living crisis, new data from Taboola shows consumers are actually getting even more jittery about their finances.
At the end of July, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that pensioners not on means-tested benefits would no longer receive winter fuel payments. This will mean about 10 million pensioners lose out on £200-300 per year.
The decision has led to much media coverage and has been widely criticised, with readership trend data from Taboola showing that ‘pensioners’ was the seventh most popular topic over the past 30 days.
Over the period, the term pensioners attracted 10 million page views among Taboola’s network of UK media publishers. This put the topic above the page views for both ‘riots’ and ‘Southport’, despite the UK suffering its worst unrest in more than a decade.
Beyond the retiree audience, intense speculation about Reeves’ first Budget, due on October 30, appears to have left the wider population feeling concerned about their finances. Reeves has repeatedly refused to rule out an increase in capital gains tax and there are also rumours there may be cuts to pension tax relief and increases in inheritance tax.
Taboola has analysed readership trends across its network of UK media publishers in the 45 days since the election to identify what topics are at the forefront of readers’ minds. The data shows that compared to the previous 45 days, page views for winter fuel payment were up 26,000%; views for pensioners were up 340%; views for personal finance were up 268%; views for tax were up 150%; views for capital gains tax were up 81%; views for pensions were up 48%; and views for tax hike were up 831%.
Taboola communications lead Dave Struzzi said: “Our data for the period since the election suggests Brits have become more jittery about their financial future since the change in Government. This is understandable given the headlines we’re seeing about what’s expected in the October Budget. We expect interest to remain high in topics affecting consumers’ personal finances for at least the next couple of months.”
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