London, October 20 (ANI): Health-conscious consumers are shunning their shop-bought foamy latte in favour of gym memberships in the top 10 "lifestyle essentials" in LV's Lifestyle Inflation Index for 2012.
Consumers, who spend their 6,000 pounds on everyday luxury must-haves, now consider keeping fit to be more essential, thereby gaining their highs from exercise rather than caffeine, with gym and sports memberships at number eight in Britain's most loved luxuries.
The index reveals that people from Britain have spent a massive 158 billion pounds on what they consider luxury items in the year to August 2012, an average annual spend of 6,194 pounds per household.
Consumer spending has seen the biggest jump since 2009 as people splash cash on clothes and eating out.
Holidays unsurprisingly account for the majority of the spending, with UK households spending 83.3 billion pounds on them in the space of 12 months as 44 percent of people classified them as lifestyle essentials.
Dining out, TV subscriptions, haircuts, nights out, takeaways, arts and culture, cinema trips, and premium foods round off the top ten along with gym memberships.
The amount spent on the so-called lifestyle essentials has risen by 9 billion pounds in the last year, with households spending on average an extra 344 pounds over the year.
Though the bump in luxury spending may seem to contradict these otherwise austere times, the survey by LV also reveals that more than three-quarters of people are making other cutbacks so they can afford to treat themselves.
Buying cheaper or own brand basic food is the most popular form of household budget cut, while others are shopping at cheaper stores or even picking up more goods second-hand.
A third of people meanwhile are saving cash by taking their lunch into work instead of buying it, while one in six people are growing their own fruit and vegetables to slash their grocery bills.
"It is no surprise that people are...making cutbacks in other areas to maintain the little luxuries in their life," the Daily Mail quoted Mark Jones, LV head of protection, as saying.
"The need to get away from it all is important to people when economic times are hard, which explains why holidays and weekend breaks remain the lifestyle aspect that most people are most unwilling to do without.
"It is clear that these lifestyle luxuries are central to many people's happiness," he added. (ANI)
