Remote Working During COVID-19 Pandemic Directly Impacted US Household Spending Across Key Bill Categories
July 22 2021 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
doxoINSIGHTS report shows 45% of consumers had
at least one bill increase in the past year; Categories most
impacted by WFH were Utilities, Cable & Internet, and
Mobile
As Americans return to the office, many for the first time in
sixteen months, doxo, the innovative web and mobile bill pay
service, today released new survey data on the financial impact of
remote work due to COVID-19 on household bills. As many Americans
were without access to employer facilities for over a year, the
latest doxoINSIGHTS report shows consumers shouldered a large bill
pay burden to account for long hours worked from home. The
categories most impacted by remote work – Utilities, Cable &
Internet, and Mobile – were therefore the most likely to have shown
an increase since March of 2020.
Key findings from the latest report, “Household Bills and
Financial Health After a Year of COVID-19” include:
Household bills that increased over the
past year were the categories most impacted by remote work
- Almost half of respondents (45%)
experienced an increase in spending in at least one household bill
over the past year
- The bills that increased were those
categories that required more usage due to remote work brought on
by the COVID-19 pandemic:
- 77% saw an increase in Utilities
- 32% saw an increase in Cable & Internet
- 17% saw an increase in Mobile Phone
Higher usage accounted for increases in
these categories, combined with a substantial percentage of
individuals who incurred fees because they delayed at least one
payment
- 70% of Utility bill increases were due to more usage; 12% were
due to missed payments
- 49% of Cable & Internet bill increases were due to more
usage; 17% were due to missed payments
- 51% of Mobile bill increases were due to more usage; 19% were
due to missed payments
As Americans saw spikes in WFH related
bills, these same bill pay categories were also the first place
they looked to trim expenses
- 70% of people were actually able to cut
spending in at least one household bill category over the past
year
- The three most common bills to be reduced
were also all in categories likely to be impacted by the shift to
remote work:
- 48% decreased Cable & Internet
- 46% decreased Utilities
- 33% decreased Mobile
“While remote work due to Covid may have saved Americans on
their commuting costs, it inversely affected household bills tied
to the services we all used as a result of being home more -
namely, utilities, mobile phone and internet,” said Jim
Kreyenhagen, VP of Marketing and Consumer Services at doxo. “The
good news is that many households also began paying closer
attention to how much they were paying across these categories,
looking to trim costs or reduce usage where possible, and this may
help save them on their bills even as they return to the
office.”
In addition, two of every five respondents (40%) said they had
delayed paying at least one bill during the pandemic. For more on
these findings, including the ways in which Americans trimmed their
bill payments, from reducing usage to switching providers, please
visit: https://www.doxo.com/insights/
About doxoINSIGHTS
doxoINSIGHTS provides direct insight into household
financial health and spending activity by leveraging consumer
surveys and doxo’s unique aggregate bill pay data set, comprising
actual bill payment activity to confirmed household service
providers across the country. doxo data brings together the
broadest available data set for analyzing actual household bill
payment activity, pulling from over 5 million paying consumers
across over 97% of U.S. zip codes. doxo’s payment network covers
over 100,000 billers in 45 different service categories and enables
payments using bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards. This
uniquely broad statistical foundation powers doxoINSIGHTS reports –
uncovering key trends for household financial health and bill
payment behavior.
About doxo
doxo provides simple, secure all-in-one bill payment to
any biller, with any payment method, on any device. A doxoPLUS
subscription adds free bank payments and five essential financial
protections that boost household financial health. Through these
services, doxo currently serves over five million paying users who
can make payments to over 100,000 local and national businesses,
making doxo the largest bill pay directory in the nation. Billers
on the network get paid directly, fast and free – and consumers
have complete bill pay independence over when and how they pay
their bills. doxo expanded its user base by more than 70 percent in
the past year and is expanding its team to further accelerate
growth and change the bill pay landscape to focus on the customer.
doxo investors include MDV, Sigma Partners, and Bezos Expeditions.
doxo is based in Seattle, WA. For more information visit
www.doxo.com.
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Dotted Line Communications for doxo Jenny Davis
press@doxo.com