New research by neobank N26 shows that the majority of Dutch consumers were unable to continue with their major plans for 2020. This also has an impact on finances: as a result, 38% of Dutch consumers decided to spend their saved money on future ideas instead.
Plans cancelled or postponed
The measures taken as a result of corona have had a major impact on the personal plans of the Dutch for 2020. For more than half (57%) of the Dutch, an important life event or purchase did not take place. The most common cancelled plans were to travel abroad, a new job and the purchase of a new car. In addition, some indicated that they would like to pay off a debt this year, or move to a new house.
4 out of 10 saved money on something else
Three-quarters (73%) of the Dutch had already saved money for plans in 2020 that eventually could not go ahead. The average amount set aside was €2489.80. Although most (62%) simply postponed their plans and still save that amount for the same purpose, 38% indicate that they will now spend their savings on something else after being forced to cancel their plans. They prefer to do this on jobs at home, a new car or on a vacation (all 22%).
N26 also saw this change in savings goals among their users: “Since the beginning of the corona crisis, we saw a high level of activity in the Spaces feature, an in-app feature that allows people to easily categorize their money for different purposes. What is particularly striking is that many people reorganized their plans by redistributing their budgets to fit their current situation,” says Jeremie Rosselli, General Manager France & Benelux at N26. “Since March this year, we have seen our Dutch customers creating more and more Spaces in their N26 accounts to better manage their money, and putting an average of 38% putting more savings aside than before the lockdown”.
Lost costs
Not everyone had the option to keep their savings or spend them on something else. Nearly four in ten (38%) of Dutch people say they lost money because plans didn’t go ahead and they couldn’t get their money back. On average it is an amount of €707.29 that they do not see back. The Netherlands is in the top 3 of consumers who have lost the most money. Germans were hit hardest and lost an average of € 995.06 for cancelled plans, followed by Belgium (€ 750.27) and the Netherlands (€ 707.29).
*Online survey of Sapio among 1002 respondents, July – August 2020
