Egg: Price of fun has gone down

December 7, 2006

Credit card provider Egg has reported that the "price of fun" in the UK has gone down in recent years, while the overall cost of living has increased.

The company has released its retail therapy index (RTI), stating that the cost of fun items, such as leisure and entertainment goods, has decreased by 0.6 per cent over the last decade.

Average UK prices, however, have increased by 30.2 per cent in the same period.

In the run-up to Christmas, Egg's survey found that there are some bargains to be found. Audiovisual equipment, such as mp3 players, televisions and sound systems, have fallen in price by 11 per cent over the last year.

The average cost of CDs has also decreased by 23 per cent over the past 12 months, but these reductions have not taken place in all sectors.

Books and newspapers have gone up in cost by just over six per cent and consumable products such as tobacco have experienced price rises of more than five per cent.

Alison Wright, chief marketing officer for Egg, said: "Christmas is a time for giving but shoppers need to make sure they don't give themselves financial headaches for the new year by overdoing the spending.

"Our RTI reveals that over the past decade, the price of 'fun', as in recreational and leisure products and services, has grown by less than one per cent, while overall prices have increased by almost a third. Savvy shoppers can have a very merry Christmas without breaking the bank."