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12 April 2006
Jakarta
When the cost of living is rising faster than salaries can keep pace with, the world’s consumers are fairly unanimous about what they’d cut back on to avoid blowing their budget. Out-of-home entertainment, spending on new clothes and upgrading technology are the top three belt-tightening measures of consumers worldwide, according to an online survey by ACNielsen, the world’s leading market research and information company. The survey, conducted in November 2005, polled over 23,500 respondents – regular Internet users – in 42 markets.
Just over half the respondents claimed they would cut down on out of home entertainment (57%) and spend less on new clothes (53%) to stay within their budgets, with nearly half (48%) also saying they would delay upgrading technology to tighten their belts.
Across the five regions surveyed, consumer priorities varied, most notably in North America. While out of home entertainment was the first thing consumers would cut down on in Latin America (61%), Asia Pacific (58%) and Europe (54%), in North America, the first thing to go for 70 percent of Canadians and 66 percent of Americans would be the take-away meal, ahead of out-of-home entertainment, which ranked second. Moreover, North Americans cited ‘trying to save on gas and electricity’ as their third preferred cost-saving measure.
Top three cost saving measures by region
Cross-referencing these belt-tightening measures with an earlier ACNielsen survey about how consumers spend spare cash once essential living expenses have been take care of, it is clear to see that Europeans are strongly determined not to give up their quality of life, with holidays and home improvements high on their priority spending list and among the least likely expenses to be cut when the going gets tough. Similarly, people in Asia Pacific are pretty determined to stick to their holiday plans and Latin Americans are addicted to upgrading to new technologies.
“To a degree, belt-tightening strategies are a reflection of lifestyles in each region, and the potential for where the biggest saving can be made,” said Farquhar Stirling, Managing Director, South East Asia. “It also reflects priorities – where consumers will look first to cut back, and also where they are not prepared to make concessions. Clearly for most consumers, out of home entertainment is an area of discretionary spending and where savings can be readily made. Similarly, not upgrading your mobile phone or laptop with the latest version, or making do with last season’s colours, isn’t going to kill you, if you have to go without.”
In Indonesia, most consumers are likely to cut down on takeaways (55%), out of home entertainment (54%) and to delay upgrading their personal technology (47%).
Top 10 cost saving measures in Indonesia
The ACNielsen Online Consumer Confidence Survey, the largest twice-yearly global survey of its kind, is aimed to gauge consumers’ current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and current major concerns. The most recent wave of the survey took place in November 2005 and polled over 23,500 consumers – regular Internet users – in 42 markets in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia-Pacific region, Africa (Republic of South Africa) and the Middle East (UAE).
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behaviour. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns. To learn more, visit www.acnielsen.com.
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