Crisis and the culture of consumption

The economic crisis has changed buying habits, affecting what people buy, and where they buy it

By Dmitry Karpenko

Research conducted by Touchpoll Ukraine in February and March shows that the hard economic times may be making Ukrainians thinner and more sober, as people buy smaller quantities, less expensive brands and choose to abstain from some products altogether.
Pollsters found that 36 percent of those surveyed said that they were buying less costly versions of the products they usually purchase, while 20 percent were sticking with their traditional brands, but buying them in smaller quantities.

One in ten consumers say that they have stopped buying some categories of product entirely.  Of those eliminating categories, 40 percent have forgone baked goods, and 39 percent have cut out alcoholic beverages like vodka and cognac.  A third of these consumers say that they have eliminated meat from their diets.  Beer and low-alcohol beverages took a lighter hit, with a quarter of them choosing to abstain.   Cheese and fish were eliminated by 23 percent of the consumers who stopped buying all products in a category, and fresh vegetables were off the menu for 21 percent.

Thankfully, most consumers are cutting back rather than cutting themselves off. Most consumers (61 percent) are buying less meat, but 43 percent are purchasing less bread and bakery products, and 40 percent are cutting back on fish.  Between 20 and 30 percent of respondents purchased less cheese, fresh fruit, strong alcoholic beverages, beer and low-alcoholic drinks.
With fewer hryvnia in their pockets, consumers are seeking out bargains, shopping at less expensive markets.  Of the 12 percent of more price-conscious consumers, 70 percent have turned their back on the convenience of supermarkets in favor of traditional open-air markets,

47 percent frequented wholesale markets and hypermarkets, 40 focused on cheap supermarkets and grocery stores, and 13 percent bough goods at kiosks.  Another 12 percent say they're buying more in person-to-person transactions.
The shift in buying habits has had an understandable effect on the retail supermarket business, with a knock-on effect being felt by the large trade networks and producers that distribute to the network retail.  Indications are that they will respond by adjusting the selection of ptroducts being produced, the volume sent to market, and importantly, prices.

Dmitry Karpenko is executive director of Touchpoll Ukraine.