Global: How consumers feel they would weather a financial storm

Rising global inflation has made fear of a recession – and the attendant financial consequences – a serious concern for many consumers. In these circumstances, it’s natural to think about the worst-case scenario, and whether or not it would be possible to manage it.

Data from YouGov Global Profiles shows that, on average, two in five members of the public across every market in our database (41%) say they would be able to cope, while a quarter (24%) say they would not. Consumers in MENA are most likely to agree they could handle a personal financial crisis (47%); two in five of the public in the Americas (43%) and APAC (41%) say the same, while Europeans are least likely to affirm their ability to weather the storm (38%).

But beyond the worst case scenario, a looming economic crisis could impact spending more broadly. Our data shows that, among all respondents, half (50%) say they take news about finance and the economy into account before making big purchases, with less than a fifth (17%) disagreeing. In MENA this rises to as much as 55% of consumers.

Even in regions that are less likely to pay attention to gloomy media stories about finance and the economy, such as Europe, two in five consumers (41%) say they take this news into account before splurging. While some reports have shown that the public have continued spending for now, if the tidings continue to get worse, that may well change in the near future.

Methodology

YouGov Global Profiles is a globally consistent audience dataset with 1000+ questions across 43 markets. The data is based on continuously collected data from adults aged 16+ years in China and 18+ years in other markets. The sample sizes for YouGov Global Profiles will fluctuate over time, however the minimum sample size is always c.1000. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from India and UAE, which use urban representative samples, and China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, which use online representative samples. Learn more about Global Profiles. 

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