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Romanians Plan To Save Up, Go Out Less, Attend Church More Often

Romanians living in urban areas will try this year to save up in the bank, go out less often and go to church more, after living worse in 2009 than they did between 2006 and 2008 and having had to cut down on spending, according to a study by Daedalus.
Romanians Plan To Save Up, Go Out Less, Attend Church More Often
10 mart. 2010, 19:35, English

The study is based on a survey conducted between 2006 and 2009 on a sample of around 1,000 people each year, aged between 18 and 65 and living in urban areas.

„About half of urban Romanians reckon they were worse off in 2009 compared to 2008. Still, unlike early last year, pessimism is lower. This change in attitude is explained partly by Romanians taking steps to adjust to last year’s changes (…). In other words, 2010 will be marked by caution, stricter control over expenses and a plan to direct budget towards holidays rather than going out and small ‘whims’,” the study says.

48.7% of those who answered said they were worse off in 2009, compared to 30.7% in 2008, 27.5% in 2007 and 19.3% in 2006. The share of people who said their living standards did not change over the last year was similar to that of 2006-2008.

As regards Romanians’ expectations, 49.5% said they would be worse off in 2010, compared to 55.1% in 2009. On the other hand, the study shows a slight growth of estimates regarding better living standards, from 17.4% in 2009 to 17.8% in 2010.

The study also shows more people turned to relatives or activities other than work to supplement their income. Although the share of salaries or pensions in the total income dropped, earnings per family member and purchasing power remained constant.

Around 20% answered in January that their current income did not afford them a decent living, almost 3 percentage points more than in January 2009, while 34.8% could only afford to satisfy their basic needs, a level similar to last year’s.

Romanians are expected to be more cautious with respect to taking out loans and more open towards making investments. Fewer (14% compared to 19.2% last year) intend to pay for products in installments, but trust in bank deposits, investment funds and shares and bonds is on the rise.

The economic crisis did not largely compel Romanians to adapt their consumption behavior, although there was a slight increase in the share of people who plan to buy cheaper brands – 23.4% from 21.7% last year.

Although in early 2009 many Romanians were planning to spend their holidays abroad, in the end local destinations proved more popular, the study says. Still, the number of people considering vacationing abroad has generally remained constant.

This year Romanians reckon they will give up on going out to clubs, restaurants, bars, playing computer games, paying for services by card, and going to the cinema, theater or to concerts. More will choose to go to church and they are just as interested in reading and taking part in courses as in 2009.

Most of those who answered the survey said their main concerns are rising prices, lower personal income and epidemics, with more than 50% saying they were worried about losing their job, terrorism and a possible war in the region.

Daedalus Millward Brown, part of the Daedalus group, provides marketing research (qualitative and quantitative) services, marketing information systems (MIS), market entering strategies and marketing consultancy.