After last week’s announcement from the Department of Education that student loan payments will resume in October, borrowers are braced for a disruption to their personal spending habits. According to recent CivicScience data, a majority of student loan borrowers (58%) are at least ‘somewhat concerned’ about making payments when they resume, with one-third clocking in at ‘very concerned.’ This will impact countless industries patronized by borrowers, and food delivery services stand to be among the most affected.
Per the latest CivicScience data, a majority of borrowers who order food delivery at least weekly are ‘very concerned’ about paying back student loans (52%) – and a vast majority are at least ‘somewhat concerned’ (74%). A majority of all borrowers who order food delivery to any extent are at least ‘somewhat concerned’ about loan payments resuming.
Some delivery services could be more affected than others. DoorDash users are more likely than Grubhub or Uber Eats users to be ‘very concerned’ or express any level of concern about paying back student loans in October. Uber Eats users are the least likely to express any concern at all about student loan payments.
Food delivery is in many ways a proxy for age – younger adults are drastically more likely to order food delivery at any frequency, and especially at least monthly or weekly – but the 18-34 set was already reducing or planning to reduce its food delivery spending at a heightened rate compared to the Gen Pop, per CivicScience data from earlier this month. So with some reductions already in the works for adults aged 18-34, student loans resuming could mean a serious disruption to the industry.
Want to know more about how your business will be impacted by the coming student loan changes? Get in touch.
On Thursday, June 29, CivicScience CEO John Dick will host a webinar focused on how the return of student loan payments will impact brands and markets. Join us to see the latest tracking data on the consumers who will be most affected, how they expect to shift their spending as a result, which categories and brands will be most affected, and what they can do about it. Register here.
