Britons are spending more than £5.7 billion on household appliances every year, according to new research.
Data from Halifax Credit Cards indicates the UK spent that figure in 2005 ““ a dramatic upturn from the £4.4 billion spent in 1995.
With the sum equating to two per cent of the total household disposable income for the year, an increase on 1995 of 29 per cent in real terms, the signs are that the UK is spending more and more on products such as fridges, toasters and ovens.
One key driver for this has been the downturn in the cost of household appliances, which have fallen in price by an average of 15 per cent since 1995, with more families becoming accustomed to an array of different appliances.
However, while the market has become more accessible and therefore larger, Halifax says it has also stretched to encompass some high-end goods.
The Eye-Catcher fridge-freezer, for example, caters for an exclusive clientele at £10,000.
Complete with 7,000 Swarovski crystals embedded in the surface of the fridge, only one of the Slovenian-made appliances is available in the UK.
No doubt spending more, and more often due to the general decline in quality of the product available.
Penguin45.