February 9th, 2023, Janice Fernandes
As the impact of inflation continues to be felt to varying degrees across the globe, people’s focus on their financial well-being has made them tighten their belts and cut back on expenses. But in which categories have global consumers been most aware of increasing prices, enough to make them want to change brands, shop around, or not buy a product/ service at all?
Polling data from a recent YouGov survey shows 55% of global consumers are price-conscious when purchasing groceries, making it the most price-conscious category. On the other hand, only 18% of overall respondents say they are sensitive to price increases in cars, putting it at the same level as air travel and hotels and lower than other categories such as utilities (36%), clothing and shoes (35%), and take-out food (30%). Financial and investment products and furniture are the least price-conscious categories, with only 14% and 11% of consumers considering price respectively.
In individual markets, the proportion of consumers conscious about the price of cars in the UAE (26%) and India (25%) is higher than all other countries studied in this survey. Among the other APAC markets, Australia and Indonesia register over two in ten consumers (21%) who say in the last six months they’ve been conscious about the increasing price of cars. In countries where owning a car is considered more of a luxury than necessity, a lower proportion of consumers pick ‘car/vehicle’ as the category they have been most price-conscious about – Singapore (13%) and Hong Kong (7%), the lowest of all markets.
The proportion of consumers price-conscious of cars/vehicles decreases as we move towards Europe. Of the countries surveyed in this region, nearly two in ten French and British consumers indicate they are price-conscious about cars (19% each), with Poland as likely as global respondents (18%). Denmark and Sweden are the lowest in this region, with 9% each.
Canada and Mexico are among the five countries with the highest share of consumers who have been sensitive to the increasing prices in the automotive industry, with 23% and 22% respectively picking ‘car/ vehicle’. The US stands far below its neighbors, but only slightly lower than the global audience, at 17%. In this category, American men are more likely than women (18% vs. 15% respectively) to change brands, shop around or not buy a car at all.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 510 and 2044 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in December 2022. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.
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