Cost of living: Best and worst staycation buys right now

Staycation products

Because of the current cost of living crisis, many of us might be revamping our outside space to make it staycation-ready ahead of summer instead of flying abroad. New data from PriceRunner shows the products you should be buying for your garden right now, as well as the ones you should steer clear of to avoid large price increases.   

Record-high levels of inflation, expensive energy and food. Many things are adding economic pressure to our wallets this year, making a holiday abroad almost economically impossible. But fear not, as Christine Gouldthorp, Consumer Expert at PriceRunner, found that there are bargains you can make on summer products this year:

If you are staying at home this summer there are plenty of products to buy that have become less expensive. I know that hot tubs have become cheaper since last year, same with gardening tools and charcoal BBQ’s. Be careful when looking at swimming pools, dining sets and outdoor sofas, as these have increased a lot during the same time.”

Christine Gouldthorp, Consumer Expert

In their recent analysis, PriceRunner found the most popular garden and outdoor products you can buy to save money, along with the ones to avoid that have increased the most in price. They also found the best time of year to buy each product to get them at their cheapest.

It’s the year to invest in a hot tub

Over the past year, many products on PriceRunner’s website have both increased and decreased in price, some more than usual. Looking at some of our most popular outdoor and garden products, PriceRunner found that swimming pools had almost doubled in price since January 2021. Other larger products had also seen large increases:  

For those looking to invest in a new sofa or dining set for your garden, make sure to check the price of the products first as these have become a lot more expensive just in the past year. But if you are looking to make a good investment, hot tubs and charcoal barbeques are two products I’d recommend buying this summer as they are cheaper now than a year ago,” said Christine Gouldthorp.

The table below shows some of our most popular summer product categories and their price changes between January 2021 to May 2022:

You may want to buy your garden tools soon

In their analysis, PriceRunner wanted to see at what time of year we should buy different products for our outside spaces and gardens. They looked at eleven popular product categories between January 2021 – December 2021 ranging from lounge sets to gas BBQ’s.

Their analysis showed that the best products to buy in June are outdoor sofas, as they on average reached their lowest price during that month. Steer clear of electric BBQ’s as they were the most expensive then.

The table below shows the best and worst time of the year to buy different products for our gardens:

For the best deals on garden and outside products right now, don't forget to visit PriceRunner's deals page, with current and up-to-date pricing on everything from power tools to swimming pools.