Unplanned grocery and food delivery spending weigh on budgets

ISTANBUL

Small daily expenses, such as unplanned grocery shopping and food delivery spending, weigh on household budgets, found a new survey by ING Türkiye.

The online survey, carried out by Estima Araştırma Danışmanlık with 300 digital banking customers, found that 93 percent of respondents made unplanned grocery purchases in the past month, while 76 percent bought coffee or beverages and 71 percent ordered food delivery. Bank and transaction fees ranked fourth among these expenses at 63 percent.

Some 51 percent of participants said unplanned grocery shopping reached a high amount by the end of the month, while 45 percent reported the same for food delivery expenses. In addition, 36 percent said they had forgotten subscriptions set to automatic payment. Reducing food delivery orders emerged as the most common cost-cutting measure, cited by 41 percent of respondents.

Half of the participants said they only realized the true amount of their small daily expenses at the end of the month or noticed too late how often recurring spending had increased.

The research also found that small banking fees, including transfer, ATM and annual credit card charges, significantly affect consumers. Nearly half of respondents said they had changed banks because of fees, while 64 percent said they would consider switching banks due to banking costs.