How intensely are APAC’s consumers feeling the impact of inflation on grocery prices?

How intensely are APAC’s consumers feeling the impact of inflation on grocery prices?

Samuel Tan - March 17th, 2023

Last month, we explored whether consumers in APAC expect their household finances to get better or worse over the next 12 months – across Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

But with inflation rates globally remaining high, do APAC’s consumers feel that prices for groceries have risen sharply over the past few months? 

To what extent do consumers in APAC think that groceries have recently grown costlier?

Latest data from YouGov Surveys show that most consumers in APAC feel that the prices of groceries have increased in the past few months, albeit to a relatively lesser extent than other regions globally.

Over seven in ten (72%) say they have noticed a rise in grocery prices, with a third (35%) reporting major increases. In comparison, five in six consumers (84%) in AMERS and EMEA say grocery prices have gone up in the past few months, with the majority (62-67%) indicating the hikes have been considerable.

What proportion of consumers in key APAC markets think grocery prices have risen significantly?

Consumers in Australia, Singapore and Indonesia are considerably more likely than the average APAC consumer to say grocery prices have gone up in the past few months, while consumers in Hong Kong are much less likely to.

While under three-quarters (72%) of consumers in APAC think groceries have grown costlier recently, six in seven consumers in Australia (85%) and about four in five consumers in Singapore (81%) and Indonesia (78%) indicate so.

Concerningly, over half of all Australian consumers (55%) feel there has been a major increase in grocery prices, while around two-fifths of all consumers in Singapore (41%) and Indonesia (38%) say the same, compared to over a third (35%) of APAC consumers.

In contrast, three in five (61%) Hong Kong consumers think their grocery prices have risen in the past few months, while almost half (48%) feel the increases have been minor.

This is part 1 of our 4-part series on the impact of inflation on essential goods and services in APAC. Read the companion articles in the series via the links below.

Part 2: How intensely are APAC’s consumers feeling the impact of inflation on health & pharmaceutical items?

Part 3: How intensely are APAC’s consumers feeling the impact of inflation on energy bills?

Part 4: How intensely are APAC’s consumers feeling the impact of inflation on housing costs?

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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides 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 2,044 for each market. All surveys were conducted online during January 2023. 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.