Pumpkin Spice And Price Tags: September's Spending Habits

September spending marks a new era in seasonal consumer behaviour, with a seasonal shift in retail patterns. As quickly as the weather changes, so does how we spend our money and this is particularly evident in our consumer trends of September.

Importantly though, this is more than just the weather influence on spending coming through but also shows a lot about the psychology of seasonal spending. We are now in back to school season and fall spending habits will dictate our wallets for the next few months.

The end of summer

Back to school shopping isn’t restricted to parents. In a very real sense, everyone is going “Back to School” as we finish another summer. No more beach holidays, gardening, BBQs etc – instead, September often marks a return to real life for many households.

This is often a time of financial planning, and no more impulse purchases. The onus is now on saving money and developing a holiday savings plan as the countdown to Christmas (!) becomes a real thing. As well as reining in spending, this can be a good time to get on top of consumer debt and credit card spending. Financial awareness grows at this time of year, with more people searching online for tools and resources around debt management, managing expenses and budgeting for fall.

September’s spending trends

The retail trends of September are clear in the kinds of products and services most people flock to at this time of year. As well as smart spending, and a focus on saving money, people of course like to enjoy the fall spending habits.

For instance, this is the time to enjoy pumpkin spice lattes and other autumn menu items. Nostalgia marketing is particularly targeted at this time, with fall flavours and branded seasonal merchandise designed to make us spend more and enjoy this time of the year. Seasonal product launches are also brought to people’s news feeds, and the drive to get people into the autumnal mood really gets started.

For instance, as you scroll, you’ll see more ads and videos for cozy home “essentials” – fall home décor, organisation projects, wardrobe transition themes, blanket throws – building up to early prompts for pumpkin patch trips, Halloween decorations and Halloween costumes.

We don’t just buy into this because we love Halloween and the pumpkin spice trend. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a huge part of this, as we get into trend following. Don’t underestimate the power of emotional spending, with nostalgia increasingly driving comfort spending. You’ve heard of seasonable affective disorder, or SAD? Well this is the time we have seasonal affective spending!

The psychology of fall

Of course, this shows the power of marketing influence. The weather may be cooler but just because it’s September doesn’t mean you can’t still go on holiday, and enjoy the summer somewhere else in the world.

Instead, the cultural rituals of spending are deeply indoctrinated in us. This is habit formation spending, backed up and reinforced by concerted marketing pushes around this. The social influence on spending is clear as we gravitate more towards comfort spending and retail therapy.

Every year we see more targeted advertising around this year with greater pushes on content marketing around seasonable trends, with greater nostalgia in advertising.

The end of summer spending gives way to new buying habits but these can be just as powerful and as costly as the splurging of summer. However, here are five ways to get on top of your personal finance this autumn (and stay one step ahead of fall consumer sentiment).

Five ways to get on top of your finances this autumn

1) Reset your budget

Having a budget, or adjusting your existing one, can help you make sense of your financial situation and even help you save more for your goals. It involves looking at how much money you’ve got coming in each month and what your outgoings are. What will you be spending on food? Rent or a mortgage?

2) Automate your savings

Automating your savings can be a quick and easy hack to get you into the habit of saving. You could set up a standing order to automatically transfer money into it from your current account each month. Or some banks and personal finance apps have tools to move your money into a different account automatically.

3) Don’t leave your pension plans out in the cold

Pension plans are a tax-efficient way to save for the long term and there are many ways to find plans you’ve lost track of. Once you’ve done this, you could consider bringing them together with a ‘pension transfer.’ Bringing all your plans together into one can cut down on admin and make it easier to see how much you have in pension savings. But it’s not right for everyone. You can lose valuable benefits and guarantees by transferring, so do check before you make any decisions.

4) Be tax aware

It’s never a bad time to see if you have any opportunities to save on tax. At this time for year, some people might be helping relatives out with things like university fees. This can be considered as giving a gift to someone. As well as benefitting your loved ones in the here and now, gifting can actually help reduce the value of your estate for IHT.

5) Keep an eye out for changes

With the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget due to take place in November, it’s worth being aware that changes could be horizon, and they could impact your finances.