Are you becoming a nester?

Posted in 'Personal Finance' by Richard Catlin

04 February 2009

Some rare but welcome good news on the job front emerged this week, with ASDA announcing plans to create 7000 new jobs and Sky an extra 1000.

ASDA intends to open 14 new stores and follows Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and discount retailer Poundland, all announcing expansion plans.

Reportedly this is down to the recession-linked new pattern of consumer behaviour known as ‘nesting’ – and is reflected in the variations in trading reported by some of the UK’s biggest companies. Sales of expensive purchases such as cars are through the floor, small treats like McDonalds are up.

As consumers tighten their belts and choose to stay at home rather than go to the pub or restaurants, Sky has seen a surge in the number of subscribers to both its standard and HD services, discount and supermarket ‘own’ brands have fared equally well.

With stay-at-home families becoming increasingly reliant on television for their entertainment, exclusive sport such as the 2009 Ashes Series, numerous movie channels, and the very latest series’ of Lost and 24 are driving huge numbers of new customers – with close to 150,000 viewers signing up in the last three months of 2008 alone.

Supermarket beer and wine sales are also up as consumers turn to entertaining at home. Even Marks & Spencer has a £10 Dine at home promotion offering restaurant standard food that any man could microwave, and a bottle of decent wine, for 2 persons.

So if you’re preparing to shun going out in favour of some home cooking and a night in front of the television – and if you don’t think that Freeview quite cuts the mustard - check out the latest offers from Sky. There’s a good chance it’ll be cheaper than the last time you looked.