Hoarding Britons sat on £17 billion worth of unused items
With half of all people dreaming of a clutter-free home, is it time to consider a clear-out and cash-in?
PRESS RELEASE - LONDON, UK - Thursday 24 July 2014 -Hoarding Britons are sitting on an untapped fortune which could be worth almost £17 billion, or £517 per household - that is according to a study commissioned by mobile boot sale app, Shpock (www.shpock.co.uk).
While half (50%) of UK adults said they would like to live in a clutter-free home - potentially envying the minimalistic style favoured by our Scandinavian neighbours - the findings show that we are often reluctant to part with a variety of unused items, such as clothing, accessories, electronics and books. In fact, two in five of those questioned said they struggled with enough storage space at home (40%) and one in five admitted to being a hoarder (20%).
Of the respondents who said they currently had unused items in their home, 17% said they were reluctant to part with belongings they no longer use because they feel emotionally attached to them, while 23% said they just hated the thought of throwing things away.
The value of unused items in peoples' homes ranged from a couple of pence to thousands of pounds.
To put the £17 billion figure in context, that is enough to cover the entire cost of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and would still leave you with enough spare change to buy every single club in the English Premier League, plus a fleet of five Boeing 747s. Put another way, £17 billion is more than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Paraguay.
Other interesting findings from the survey include:
- Over half of Britons (55%) who currently have unused items in their home said they don't get rid of unused items on the off chance that theymightuse them again in the future;
- More men (21%) than women (20%) would consider themselves a hoarder;
- More women (16%) than men (12%) would describe their partners as a hoarder;
- Women are the worst culprits for hanging onto fashion, with over two in five (41%) hoarding unworn items; this figure falls to just over one in five of men (23%);
- Of those who have unused items potentially cluttering their homes, 13% of men admit they are just too lazy to get rid of them, versus just 9% of women.
QUOTES:
Armin Strbac, co-founder of the Shpock, which commissioned the research, said:
"We are all guilty of holding onto things we never use anymore, either because of an emotional attachment or because we just can't bear to part with our possessions. The unfortunate irony is that in a landscape where thousands of people are turning to payday loans to make ends meet, we don't realise the potential value locked up in our unused items. Rather than filling our attics, cellars and cupboards under the stairs, these hoarded treasures could easily be passed onto another loving owner - while making you some money in the process."
"Since launching here in March, we've already seen over £20 million worth of UK items listed on Shpock. However, today's findings show there are many, many more millions out there. This isn't about selling the family heirlooms to make some fast cash, but looking at the unused everyday items which clog each and every household in Britain."
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-ENDS-
Methodology
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2590 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd - 3rd July 2014. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
The £17bn figure was calculated by Shpock, using the stated value of unused items (median from each bracket) which respondents said they had at home and multiplying that figure by the UK population of Great Britain aged over 18. For a full breakdown of the calculation, please get in touch.
Price comparisons
According to the final quarterly economic report published by the UK government's Department for Culture Media and Sport, the overall cost of delivering the Games was £8.92 billion, lower than the £9.3bn set aside:https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/london-2012-final-cost-london-2012-games-revealed-135956051.html
2012 EPL club valuations using the Markham Multivariate Model total £5.1bn:http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/tottenham-valued-higher-than-manchester-city-and-liverpool-8550552.html
The cost of a Boeing 747-8 is £356.9m:
http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/prices/
The GDP of Paraguay stands at $28.3bn, according to the International Monetary Fund's"Report for Selected Countries and Subjects" - part of theWorld Economic Outlook,, published in April 2014:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
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About us
Shpock ("SHop in your POCKet") (www.shpock.co.uk) is the boot sale app for beautiful things in your neighbourhood (available for iOS and Android). Items are sorted by current location, so users can browse through a vast variety of items, discover second-hand treasures or simply earn some money by selling things they no longer use without any fees. The app was originally co-founded by Armin Strbac and Katharina Klausberger, two entrepreneurs from Austria. Since the initial launch in September 2012, Shpock has gained more than three million downloads and its users have listed more than five million items.
Free download in the App store for iPhones and iPads:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/shpock-classifieds-yard-sale/id557153158
Free download in the Google Play Store for Android phones and tablets:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shpock.android
Shpock Press Area:
For any further information please contact:
Sarah Hay | Clarity PR