In 2023, the cost of living crisis continues to dominate the everyday lives of British consumers and the attention of our premium publishers. As a result, we are continuing to see the trusted editorial our publishers create about the crisis engaged with frequently by the millions of online readers we see across the Ozone platform.

Our latest insight feature focuses on the first half of 2023 in which ongoing interest in the crisis has driven a +2% increase in engagement with our Personal Finance category. We also take a look at the growing interest we are seeing in other, less obvious content areas, like Travel and Nonprofits, as a result of the biggest squeeze on living cost seen in a generation.

As previously stated, overall engagement with our Personal Finance category in the first half of 2023 has increased by +2% when compared to the same period last year. On the face of it, a single-digit increase might seem modest but in the first half of 2022 – when the cost of living crisis was beginning to bite – the category was up by a massive +61% versus H1 2021.

Digging into the content topics within the category where we’re seeing the most engagement, it should be no surprise this tends to be editorial about Mortgages, Financial Assistance, Government Support and Pensions, as consumers have looked to our publishers for information and advice. Comparatively, in the same period a year ago the main topics of interest were related to Food, Fuel and Energy costs.

Typically, we see spikes in engagement with these topics when significant changes to fiscal policy are announced. We’d expect to see engagement grow around Budget time when the Government announces a swathe of new policies. What budgets mean to consumers – everything from the price of a pint to the impact on their National Insurance contributions – is analysed by our publishers to make it relatable, meaningful and often actionable. In the first six months of this year, March 2023 – when the spring budget was announced – was the highest month for Personal Finance engagement with 56m page views, up +28% month on month.

It’s not just budget time either. We’re also seeing increasing levels of engagement with our Financial Assistance content in weeks when the Bank of England announces changes to interest rates. With rates going up 14 times since December 2021, consumers have become more savvy about what the changes mean to their finances. Since the beginning of the year, in weeks the Bank of England has changed interest rates, engagement with the Financial Assistance content topic has increased by an average of +27%.

With the enormous spikes in engagement that consistently occur around Government budgets and changes to interest rates by the Bank of England, plan ahead to target these moments as they happen, driving maximum brand relevance.

With the cost of living impacting consumers in so many ways as household budgets are tightened and spending is prioritised on the essentials, we’ve also taken a look at some of the other content areas affected.

The soaring second-hand shopping market

Despite a strong start to the year during the January sales, engagement with Shopping editorial has declined considerably as inflation has continued to rise. At its lowest point in May, page views have dropped -31% since January. The only exception to this downward trend is the increase in engagement seen among Second-hand shopping editorial. Since January, page views have grown by as much as +44% and over +230% compared to H1 last year.

While brand messaging around second-hand items typically focuses on the positive environmental impact, Ozone data highlights that those readers engaging with second-hand shopping-related editorial are not necessarily more likely to be making such choices for sustainability purposes. Instead in the current climate these readers are more likely to also be researching a high value purchase, such as a new home or car, and may therefore be looking to save money on shopping where possible.

Higher value purchases have staying power

Research remains high for holiday planners and new car hunters as high value purchases hold firm. Budget updates and news of inflation have had limited impact on research around higher value purchases, as engagement with car reviews and holiday destinations remained high throughout the first half of the year. In fact, typical seasonality around holiday planning in January and new car research in March has been replaced with consistently high interest. Travel in particular has seen unprecedented engagement, with June page views outperforming January by +32%.

Charitable Brits support for others continues

Finding the right audiences will be paramount for charities as consumers’ disposable income falls. Despite these difficult times, societal issues are still a primary focus for millions of Brits, with topics ranging from racial equality, immigration and disability support seeing significant growth annually; the latter up +141% year on year. Non-profit organisations overall have also seen continued editorial support, with engagement +16% vs H1 2022.

Reach the most relevant audiences with Ozone

Using what we know about when consumers are more likely to be engaging with cost of living content and our unique first party data, brands can connect with audiences with highly relevant messaging. Try targeting the trending financial assistance audience and other highly relevant segments to be a part of the cost of living conversation. Consider Inflation, Home Utilities, Food Costs, Mortgages and Deals & Savings to reach an estimated monthly audience of 14m online readers.

Want to know more?

If you want access to MORE unique insight like this at your fingertips, sign up to Ozone Ad Manager FOR FREE to explore the content consumption habits of our nationwide audience of 43m internet users.

Ozone Ad Manager is exclusively available to our agency and advertiser partners. First-time users of the platform can sign up to register to use it here oam.ozoneproject.com.

For more information, contact your Ozone agency sales representative to find out more or email [email protected].

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