M&S finds families want to enjoy healthy living and holidays this summer
M&S has found that the cost of living crisis is not impacting people’s desires to make the most of the summer.
The latest M&S Family Matters Index reveals that eating more healthily, exercising more regularly and spending more time outdoors come top of families’ wish lists.
Survey respondents were also found to have big plans to make the most of a restriction-free summer with 61% planning to go on holiday.
Tamsin Robertson, head of clothing and home customer insight at M&S, said: “It’s encouraging to see people more motivated than ever to exercise. When we first launched our Family Matters Index back in 2021 during lockdown, mental health consistently came up as a priority. Maintaining your physical health can deliver so many mental health benefits also and it would be great to see this enthusiasm for exercise sustain all year round. It’s a trend we’ve seen already at M&S – in the past year our great value activewear range Goodmove has grown by 26% as people get moving.”
Meanwhile, a third of of families said they are concerned about getting enough nutritious food, which was up 11% on March 2021.
In addition, the cost of living was cited as a top concern by 82% of UK families, which was up 10% on the end of last year.
M&S found that uncertainty about the future might be starting to impact shopping habits. Across the board, value was a key deciding factor when choosing where to shop with 78% of people ranking this as a top three priority, ahead of convenience (55%) and customer service (47%).
Maria Pickett, head of food customer insight at M&S, said: “Our latest index suggests cost of living concerns will continue to rise over the coming months, with value set to become even more important to families. At M&S Food, we’re focused on delivering our trusted value promise, which matters more than ever to our customers. Trusted value means offering great value food without compromising on quality and freshness, sourcing standards or at the expense of our suppliers.”
