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

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

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 their energy bills have risen sharply over the past few months?  

To what extent do consumers in APAC think that their energy bills have recently grown higher?

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

Over two in three say their home energy bills have risen in recent months, and majorly so for more than a quarter (28%). A slightly larger proportion of consumers in AMERS (68%) indicate the same, but costlier home energy bills is a much bigger concern in EMEA – over three-quarters (77%) report a hike, with close to two-fifths (57%) saying the rise has been major.

What proportion of consumers in key APAC markets think home energy bills have risen significantly?

Consumers in Australia and Singapore are more likely than the average APAC consumer to say their home energy bills have gone up in the past few months, while consumers in Hong Kong and Indonesia are slightly less likely to.

Around three-quarters of consumers in Australia (75%) and Singapore (72%) say their home energy bills have rose in the past few months, compared to over three-fifths (63%) of APAC consumers. Concerningly, while over a quarter of APAC consumers feel the price increase has been considerable, more than two in five of Australians (42%) and one in three Singaporeans (35%) think so.

In contrast, just under three-fifths of consumers in Hong Kong (59%) and Indonesia (58%) say their home energy bills have risen in recent months, while less than a quarter feel there has been a major hike in prices.

This is part 3 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 1: How intensely are APAC’s consumers feeling the impact of inflation on grocery prices?

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

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.