Consumer report shows people are unfazed by economic uncertainty of Brexit and Costa is most popular coffee shop

Britain is a nation of vodka drinkers who wear Nike, prefer to gamble at Ladbrokes and don’t realise Brexit will make life more expensive, according to a consumer survey by HSBC.

Its report, Anatomy of the Consumer, analysed spending habits in travel, leisure, food and retail, based on a survey of 2,000 people.

Its key finding was that consumers remain “unfazed by current uncertainty” about the economy, with relatively few reporting fears that they might lose their job or see the value of their home fall.

But nearly half of those surveyed said they are worried about rising living costs, with more saying their disposable income has dwindled in the last year than those who have more money to spend.

Consumers looking to tighten their belts are most likely to ditch meals out but are less willing to dispense with their annual holiday, the survey found.

HSBC said it was most surprised by the fact that far fewer people are concerned by the impact of Brexit than they are by rising inflation. “We find this intriguing because the two are interlinked in our view, with rising living costs being at least partly a function of the Brexit vote,” said the bank’s analysts. They said the survey suggested that “households have not yet fully identified the link between the Brexit vote and rising living costs”.

Those consumers who do have money to spend had strong opinions about their favourite brands, the survey found. For instance, assuming flight times and prices are the same, travellers would rather fly with British Airways than any other airline, but would choose easyJet where it is cheaper. The bank recommended investors in shares buy easyJet stock as the preferred option among no-frills carriers.

When it comes to hotels, the industry need not fear the threat that people will defect en masse to Airbnb. Sixty-two percent of people said they either have never used the spare room rental service or would never consider doing so.

Instead, Premier Inn emerged as the most popular choice among budget hotels, with 30% preferring it over its nearest rival, Travelodge, on just 14%, prompting HSBC to suggest investors buy shares in Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn.

Another reason to buy Whitbread shares is that its other big brand, Costa coffee, is by far the most popular choice among high street coffee shops, with three times more people visiting it than its nearest rival Starbucks. The taste of its coffee was cited as the main reason for choosing Costa.

Caffé Nero was ranked below both Greggs and McDonald’s in terms of visits.

For those who like something stronger than coffee, Stella Artois is the preferred beer, with 12% of people choosing it over Budweiser on 7% and Foster’s on 6.6%.

Among spirits, Britons prefer to drink vodka, with 18.5% choosing it, beating whisky into second place at 17.9%. Gin, which has been growing in popularity, is the favoured tipple among 11.4% of consumers.

Those heading from the pub to the bookies’ tend to see Ladbrokes as offering the best value for money but may not have fully assessed the odds, according to HSBC.

About 17.6% of those who gamble think Ladbrokes offers them the best return on their stake, but HSBC said that, when it comes to Premier League football at least, Betfair and Bet365 are the place to gamble. Nonetheless, HSBC advises investors to sell Ladbrokes shares, citing the likelihood that consumers will have less money to spend.

It also warned of the potential that a government review will lead to a crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals, which pulled in £1.7bn for gambling firms last year.

When it comes to groceries, Tesco remains the most popular choice, with 62% of consumers putting it in their top three, followed by Sainsbury’s, Asda and Aldi.

Nike is the most popular sports brand by the tightest of margins, with 77.6% of those surveyed putting it in their top three compared with Adidas on 77.5%, though more people put Nike at number one.

Perhaps the most surprising revelation is that only 12% of people in the UK either dislike or hate their boss, although a further 39% are indifferent to them.