Festive season: Why Kenyans will spend less this Christmas
Kenyans are likely to spend less during this year’s Christmas season, a report by the WorldRemit cost of christmas has revealed.
According to the report, most families will spend 17 per cent less during Christmas this year compared to last year.
This the study has attributed to the high cost of living caused occasioned by various factors, including drought and hunger. Currently more than 5.1 million Kenyans are going without food in arid and semi-arid areas.
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The 2022 study also shows that families around the world can expect to spend up to 156 per cent of their monthly income on Christmas.
The low spending has been attributed to anticipated high costs occasioned by inflation.
The increasing cost of food, which saw the highest increase (50 per cent) year over year, compared to 13 per cent and 21 per cent increases across the other categories, means families globally will likely need to adjust their budgets to accommodate the increased costs of holiday meals, the study shows.
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In June this year, the annual inflation rate in Kenya rose to 7.9 per cent, surpassing the upper limit of the Central Bank of Kenya’s target range of 2.5-7.5 per cent for the first time since August 2017.
Common mwananchi is struggling more and more every day with the ever increasing prices of fuel, food and basic commodities.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya has recorded the highest cost of living since 2017.
Global inflation, the war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the Covid-19 has also been cited as factors that have led to high cost of living in the country.
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