Some 89% Of Romanians Choose Spending Over Savings In ’11 - Poll

According to the survey, there is a notable difference between eastern Europe and the southern part of the continent. Thus, people in Romania, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia choose consumption this year, while those in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium or Germany focus on savings.

Most plans made by Europeans this year involve leisure activities and traveling, followed by home renovation and upgrades.

Thus, for 50% of interviewees, traveling and leisure activities are a priority, while more than 40% of respondents will spend on household appliances, home renovation and mobile phones.

Furniture items, electronics or gardening tools are priorities as well, according to the survey.

A purchase becomes significant for the family budget when it overshoots a certain threshold, which differs from one country to the next.

Thus, the threshold in Germany is EUR768, while in Romania it stands at just EUR184.

On entertainment and traveling, Romanians have a significance threshold of EUR168, while Italians have that threshold at EUR1,018 and Germans at EUR906.

Over 90% of Europeans take approximately one month for market research before making a purchase. Over 50% of European consumers choose to trust their intuition or their entourage instead of the vendor.

In Romania, over 65% of the population compares prices before moving for the purchase. British consumers pay the least attention to this aspect, as only 47% of them compare costs.

The study was compiled in December 2010 on a sample of 8,700 people aged over 18. The research targeted 13 countries where lender Cetelem is active, namely Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania, Great Britain, Russia and Slovakia.

In Romania, Cetelem is one of the largest consumer lenders.

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