Cost of Living
Understand the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on cultural participation, as well as the wider engagement impacts of financial inequality.
Hot on the heels of Covid, the cost-of-living crisis has become the key issue driving cultural engagement levels. It’s also the sort of issue that many data sources find difficult to handle (e.g. it’s not something asked about in long-running cultural surveys). It is included in the Cultural Participation Monitor, though – and we’ve seen strikingly high proportions of people saying that they’re worried about it, and that it’s affecting what - and how much – cultural activity they do.
In particular, we’ve seen it affecting some of the groups who were most likely to have been engaging in the post-lockdown period: families and younger audiences. It also affects those who were already less well-off – a group impacted by each of the many waves of the ‘permacrisis’ (e.g. austerity, Covid, the cost-of-living, the climate crisis).
From The Audience Agency
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Cost of Living
June 2024
It’s no surprise that the UK population feel worse off than they did last year (33% feeling worse off, 49% about the same and only 18% better off, a net 15% reduction).
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Cost-of-Living is hitting lowest engaged groups hardest
July 2023
Cost-of-living fears still soar above receding Covid concerns as the driving factor behind declining attendance, though less so for settled suburban groups - meanwhile the already least engaged audiences continue to be most affected, compounding the existing inequality gap in cultural consumption.
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The cost-of-living crisis and audiences’ attendance
July 2023
The cost-of-living crisis continues to expand and impact individuals in the UK. The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose by 6.3% in the 12 months up to September 2023 according to the Office for National Statistics. It is affecting many individuals’ daily lives and is having an impact on engagement at cultural and arts events and on organisations’ income, at an already difficult time.
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Cost of living outweighs covid
March 2023
Over 60% say that the cost-of-living is already slashing their ability to attend culture events (more than twice than because of Covid concerns), with even higher numbers expecting this to still be the case in 6-24 months' time.
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Cost of living crisis
September 2022
The vast majority of respondents say that they are worried about the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on them and their household, with a whopping 92% intending to scale back on entertainment spend outside of the home as a result, especially among mid-engaged, middle-aged and less urban groups.
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Spend in cultural shops and cafés
September 2022
As audiences tighten their belts, they also plan to reduce their general spend in venues' shops and cafés, though the former looks to be harder hit than the latter, where younger and highly culturally engaged visitors express a willingness to pay slightly more for greener and more ethical alternatives.
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The cost of living crisis is starting to impact people's willingness or ability to spend on arts and culture
April 2022
The cost of living crisis is emerging as a predictable barrier to engagement, and is particularly likely to affect frequency of attendance (more than spend per attendance - though increased prices would act as a further deterrent).
This new evidence confirms that arts and cultural organisations are suffering a double whammy right now. Trying to navigate these complex reasons for income being down is very challenging for organisations. Developing a really deep understanding of your audience is going to make a big difference because what's working for a peer organisation in a different place with a different audience won’t necessarily work in your community.
Related videos
Sources from elsewhere
Financial climate for museums to 'get worse before it gets better'
Arts Professional
Paid
The cost-of-living crisis continues to impact museums across England, and the situation is expected to get worse before it gets better, according to a new report.
‘It’s really desperate’: cost of living crisis spells bleak times for British arts venues
The Guardian
Many in the UK’s creative sector are being hit hard by rising fuel costs and reluctant audiences.
Inflation calculator
Bank of England
A tool for calculating how UK prices have changed over time.
