Ipsos reveals electricity is top consumer stress point in SA

A new poll by Ipsos has revealed consumers’ ability to pay their energy bills is a top concern in emerging markets, particularly for 79% of South Africans.

The Ipsos survey, which spans 28 countries, showed there is significant public concern surrounding the payment of basic services.

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“56% are concerned about their ability to pay energy bills: emerging markets top the list with 79% of South Africans and 73% of Indians saying they see this as a concern, followed by Turkey (71%) and Argentina (70%) and Chile (69%).

“Among established economies, concern about energy bills is at its highest in Great Britain, where 67% are worried about their ability to pay utility bills,” the survey revealed.

The survey also revealed that 54% worry about their ability to buy the things they are used to buying, led by Turkey (80%), South Africa (73%) and Argentina (69%).

“The Chinese (28%) and Dutch (33%) are least likely to say they are concerned about this.”

According to the Ipsos survey, three quarters of the public in the 28 countries are concerned about the rising cost of goods and services in the next six months.

“Public reactions to rises in the cost of living remain focused on cutting spending on luxuries and delaying big purchase decisions The state of the global economy is seen as the biggest driver of rising costs, followed by the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the policies of national governments.”

Expectation of falling incomes is highest in Turkey (58%), France (55%), Great Britain (54%) and Hungary (50%), where at least half agree this will be the case.

By contrast, the countries who are most optimistic about their disposable income rising are India (48%), Saudi Arabia (42%) and South Africa (40%), although in all three of these countries the sample reflects a more affluent segment of society.

Public expectations of price rises are highest in the most impactful categories.

Six in ten say that price rises in food shopping would have the most negative impact on their quality of life, followed by 51% who say the same about the cost of utilities and 42% who say rising fuel prices would have the biggest effect.

How might consumers react?

Potential consumer actions remain focused on cutting discretionary spending. In the face of rising costs which make their normal lifestyle unaffordable, almost half say they would spend less money on socialising (46%) and a similar proportion say they would delay large purchase decisions (44%).

Over a third of people say they will spend less on holidays and other household shopping (37% and 36%).

Actions which focus on changing behaviour are less likely: three in ten say that in the face of rising costs they would use less energy or drive less to conserve fuel (both 29%) – although in Great Britain half say they would seek to reduce their energy consumption.

A quarter would look to economise on food (26%) and just one in ten would move into cheaper accommodation.

Across the 28 countries, just twelve per cent say they would look for higher-paid work with another employer if rising costs made their normal lifestyle unaffordable.

Fewer still – eight per cent – say they would ask for a pay rise from their employer in this situation.

These views are similar looking only at those in work: among the employed, 12% say they would ask for a pay rise and 18% would look for higher paid work.

Ben Page, CEO of Ipsos says inflation is the biggest worry worldwide and the global public expects things to get worse.

“And while countries with more recent experience of high inflation such as Turkey and Latin American countries tend to be most pessimistic, European countries and the US are not far behind.”

Ipsos says it is initiating a new survey in August titled Pinching pockets, the South African Consumer Price War.

“The Reserve Bank continues to hike interest rates due to inflationary pressures, which has also been largely driven by skyrocketing oil prices resulting in petrol and diesel prices rising by more than one-third over the past year. In addition, the invasion of Ukraine has triggered large increases in commodity prices, including wheat and cooking oil.”

Ipsos says it intends looking into changing consumer mindsets in terms of spending and financial behaviour and the potential impact on most-affected economic sectors across the age segments GenX, Millennials and Gen Z consumers.

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