As inflation continues to soar worldwide, GCC countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have benefited from the spike in energy prices, have allotted billions of dollars in new spending to shield their citizens from the rising costs.

A recent survey by YouGov, conducted on 1006 respondents in the UAE, outlines how inflation has affected people’s cost of living in the UAE and the areas where they’ve made cutbacks to their household spending along with their future spending intent.

Data affirms that up to 83% of UAE residents reported their cost of living increased to some extent compared to 12 months ago, with more than 53% saying it has gone up a lot and 30%, a little.

Due to the rising costs of essential commodities, consumers said they were cutting down spending across sectors. Approximately 47% said they had cut back on eating out, while 43% said they have saved on shopping for clothes and accessories in the past six months.

As many as 40% of residents expressed they would spend less on gadgets and electronics, 32% on F&B takeaways, and 27% on non-essential food items. Close to 26% said they would cut back on grooming services (26%), overseas holidays (25%), and leisure activities (25%).

Just over a fifth may reduce their spending on gym subscriptions and fuel (22% and 21%), but fewer are expected to make cutbacks on streaming services (20%) and phone bills (17%).

The basic commodities sector may see lesser reductions in consumer spending. As per the survey, 16% of residents said they would spend less on household essentials, 15% on staple essential food items, 12% on insurance, and 11% on broadband subscriptions.