She'd rather top up to purchase more maize flour, sugar and other essential foods as the cost of living skyrockets.
"The rising inflation has taught me to prioritise essentials. Five years ago, I could sneak some packets of beef sausages into my shopping list. The high cost of essential foods has eaten into that budget,'' Machuka told this writer.
Machuka, a mother of two in Nairobi represents billions of consumers across the world that have drastically adjusted their spending behaviours as the cost of living bites.
A Global Consumer Insight Pulse by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows 53 per cent of global consumers are holding back on non-essential spending.
Already, 15 per cent have stopped non-essential spending altogether as disposable income dries out.
The survey also found the majority of consumers expect to reduce their expenditure across all surveyed categories over the next six months, a significant decline in planned spend across all categories since the previous pulse survey, June 2022.
According to the report, half of the consumers are extremely or very concerned about their personal financial situation (50 per cent), with one-fifth, or 22 per cent extremely concerned.
Looking ahead, 96 per cent of surveyed consumers intend to adopt cost-saving behaviours over the next six months.
The most pessimistic group at 42 per cent expects to significantly decrease their spending across all retail categories.
"They’re less likely to travel, for instance, and more likely to switch to a cheaper brand of a particular product or even go without a regularly used one,'' PwC says in the study.
Luxury or premium goods and services companies are expected to feel the pinch of cost cutting, with the survey showing that consumers are planning to reduce their spending across all surveyed retail categories over the next six months.
The survey forecasts the greatest decrease in spending on designer products at 53 per cent, travel (43 per cent), virtual online activities (42 per cent), and fashion - such as clothing and footwear (41 per cent).
"Industries including luxury and premium products, travel, and fashion expect to see the greatest portion of consumer spending reductions over the next six months, whereas groceries are expected to decline the least,'' the study reveals.
However, there still remains an appetite for future spending, with 40per cent indicating they will look to treat oneself/others, whereas 39 per cent view them as better quality.
Groceries (24 per cent) had the least reported planned spending reduction.
Furthermore, consumers globally are shifting their consumption habits in-store and online as the cost-of-living surges and supply chain disruptions impact product availability and delivery times.
As a result, almost half (49 per cent) say they are buying certain products when on offer/promotion while 46 per cent are looking to retailers offering better value.
At least 40per cent are using comparison sites to find cheaper alternatives, 34 per cent buying in bulk to save costs.
The study shows that 32 per cent are buying retailers ‘own brands' in order to make a saving.
Demographically, Generation X is the most concerned (47 per cent) and has taken action on non-essential spending; Baby Boomers lead concerns to some extent (33 per cent) while taking action, whereas Millennials lead the way when “concerned”, but not changing behaviour.
Besides affordability, supply chain issues have impacted consumer behaviour.
According to the survey, Covid-19 restrictions and the Russia-Ukraine war have fuelled supply chain disruption.
While rising prices remain the most frequently experienced issue when shopping in-store, supply chain issues also dominate with larger queues and busier store locations (30per cent), as well as product availability (26 per cent) impacting consumer behaviour.
Supply chain disruptions for in-store shopping appear most prevalent for consumers in Australia (36 per cent), the United States (35 per cent) and India (34 per cent).
For online shoppers, rising prices (48 per cent), product availability (24 per cent), and longer-than-expected delivery times (24 per cent) lead to reported concerns.
"As prices rise, consumers globally are cutting back on non-essential spending, while spending more time looking for cheaper alternatives,''PwC says.
