Remorse over pandemic purchases - 6th December 2021

One in ten people are bemoaning their pandemic purchases made during Covid lockdowns, a survey has suggested.

Many retail outlets have seen spikes in sales of items that people could enjoy in their homes or gardens or to keep up their fitness. However, buyer's remorse has now kicked in for some, who confessed to typically blowing up to an average of £1,400.

Insurer Aviva reported that many expensive items were now gathering dust. Items such as gaming equipment, DIY tools, home gyms, bikes, clothing and jewellery, musical instruments, kitchen appliances such as bread makers, garden furniture, pizza ovens and hot tubs were all cited as causing buyer's regret, the insurer said.

The 4,000 people interviewed in the survey offered a variety of explanations for their purchases. Some suggested they had been planning on starting a new pastime, while others justified their splurges by pointing out the money would have otherwise been spent on holidays or socialising.

A customer and marketing director at Aviva, Nicki Charles, noted, "So much has changed since the start of 2020. The way we work, how we interact with others, and it seems the contents of our homes too. Faced with weeks or months at home, many of us made purchases to entertain ourselves, often costing hundreds or even thousands of pounds."

Back in March, Aviva reported a 188 percent year-on-year rise in hot tub damage claims in 2020, with claims including incidents of parasols falling into tubs and birds pecking holes in their covers. Zurich, another insurance company, warned in August that outbuilding fires in sheds, garages, and conservatories, had risen 16 percent the previous year compared with 2019.

It pointed the finger at the soaring popularity of fire pits and pizza ovens, as well as conversions to home offices, gyms and domestic drinks bars. As Phil Ost from Zurich explained, "It appears to have sparked a rise in accidental blazes."