Comparing all of the financial products in the mainstream marketplace, only pensions were lower at 31% of people claimed they did not understand the differences of pensions and what they were entitled to. However, on the flip-side, the respondents were quite comfortable in understanding and having knowledge of car or van insurance, which seven out of ten people knew what they were getting, but with critical illness, mortgage payment protection insurance, annuities and pensions were found to be the most misunderstood. The news could account for those consumers that feel they have been mis-sold insurance or bought insurance and not realised the implications of the policy they have bought. It might also be the case for people not buying PPIs as they simply can’t see the benefit of the insurance.

The results come at a time of a possible economic double-dip, which could see insurance claims being filed and if the consumer doesn’t realise exactly what they are covered for it could have serious financial implications. On the other side of the coin, consumers without PPI protection could find they would have benefited from it, as more and more redundancies are being made in the UK. With the UK unemployment rate soaring, it’s about time financial institutions explained protection policies more thoroughly so that consumers can make informed decisions in whether to buy it or not.

It seems the convenience of it all is why the over-55s buy their items online, and half of them said that the goods are usually cheaper online. Just under 60% of people like the fact they can have their items delivered to their door, as it means less time wasted going to the shops or carry the items home. Younger buyers, aged 16-24, like the fact that there is an anonymity of buying items online, but both groups of shoppers do still prefer to pick items up and test them in the high street before buying them. This is the preference for the middle-generation, aged 25-34, who much prefer to see and touch their prospective purchases before putting their hand in their pocket.

British shoppers spend twice as long buying goods online compared to window shopping on the high street, while some spend more than five hours a week online looking at shopping sites. High-ticket priced goods force people to head to the high street to buy them, and therefore the average sales figures of high street goods is £126 compared to £116 online. It’s men that spend more time buying goods online compared to women, and they certainly spend less time on the high street compared to women when window shopping, which highlights the skewed results of high street sales figures as online shopping isn’t being included in what Britons are actually buying.

Many of the shoppers are happy to let retailers know what they buy, what TV programmes they watch and their demographic information, as well as around 61% would give their home address and 59% would give their lifestyle information away. This information can be vital for retailers to know who to aim their advertising efforts at and to stop any wasted adverts on things that people simply won’t want to buy. Around 53% of customers actively seek out bargains and would be keen to hear more communications from retailers if there is a monetary gain to be made.

Less and less people rely on emails nowadays to communicate, but social networks and instant messaging is more likely to hit home and be acknowledged. The information collected can be used for price sensitive and price insensitive products, such as sales or self-help products. It also means that retailers are having to change the way they communicate with their customers and shifting from ancient forms of expensive advertising, such as TV or radio adverts, and focusing their attention on capturing personal details and sending bulk texts to their customers of new and exciting lines they are trying to push, which sees a much higher return on investment.

It’s no surprise that in places like London the cost of a pint of beer is more expensive than elsewhere in the country, with an average price from the pump at £3.10, but it’s not just the big cities which are more expensive than elsewhere in the UK. The average cost of a pint of beer in Britain at the moment is £3, which was previously lower. However, an interesting point to note is that the average cost of a pint that’s brewed in the pub itself has been static over the past few years at £2.50. So, on average the cost of a pint has gone up by close to 10%, but pints brewed in pubs haven’t really changed at all.

It’s no wonder that there are over 20 pubs closing every week at the moment, as people simply don’t have the money to be spend on having a couple of pints after work. It’s much more of a luxury than what it once was and because of this pubs all over the UK are feeling the impact.

The book which reviews pubs and their prices, The Good Pub Guide, has even been forced to charge pubs to be listed. However, don’t think that they will put any pub in the guide once they pay, as this isn’t the case at all. They are still just as strict in relation to what pubs are listed in the book. The book is an easy way to see which pubs offer the best value for money, which pubs have character and the overall pub of the year (currently “The Potting Shed” in Wiltshire).