Business World, Thursday, May 25, 2006 |
"When the cost of living is rising faster than salaries can keep pace with [sic], the world’s consumers are fairly unanimous about what they’d cut back on to avoid blowing their budget, with out-of-home entertainment, spending on new clothes and upgrading technology the top three belt-tightening strategies worldwide," said 2006 ACNielsen online survey, titled: "Money saving measures: A global consumer report."
In the same survey, Filipino consumers were tagged as "power savers" among 42 nationalities and ranked among the top 10 consumers worldwide who would rather save their spare cash than shop for new clothes or upgrade technology.
In the ranking, some 69% of Filipino respondents would most likely turn off lights to save on electricity bills, followed by Mexicans with 64% of respondents saying the same, and Americans at 61%. The least likely to turn down the heating or lights were Russians, Finns, and Swedes.
About 61% each of Filipino, Taiwanese, and Thai respondents said they would defer upgrading technology. Approximately 60% of Singaporean and 59% of Chinese respondents said the same.
"The Germans were least likely to delay this...and the Japanese, renowned for their technology adoption, were third least likely to delay an upgrade," the survey noted.
About 70% of Brazilian respondents, 66% of Italians and Irish would cut back on the latest fashion and 62% of Filipinos said the same.
This Filipino consumers’ money-saving attitude explains why spending on retail goods has been decreasing according to Philippine Retailers Association’s vice-president for National Affairs Paul Y. Santos. "There is a decline in sales. The people perceives that prices in the country are unstable and they would rather save their money," Mr. Santos said, without giving figures.
He said Filipinos would rather cut on spending for technology upgrade because "there are no major improvements in technology." "The developments are just incremental and Filipinos think that it does not warrant an upgrade. The same goes with the clothing. Apparel is a durable item anyway," he told BusinessWorld .
Moreover, Filiipino consumers’ awareness of the link between high world oil prices and prices of oil products in the country encourages them to save on electricity.
There were 14 money-saving strategies included by ACNielsen in its survey. These are to cut down on home entertainment expenses, spend less on clothes, delay upgrading technology, cut down on take-away meals, save on gas and electricity, delay replacement of major household items, switch to cheaper grocery brands, cut down on telephone expenses, cut annual vacation, use vehicle less often, use coupons more often, look for better deals on loans and insurance, cut down on smoking, and buy cheaper brands of alcohol.
The survey, released last month, covered 23,500 consumers worldwide in November last year who are regular internet users. -- Paolo Joseph L. Lising
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