CONSUMER OUTLOOK

Four in 10 expect their disposable income to fall over next year

By our News Team | 2022

New polling by Ipsos across 28 countries finds that in many markets the public expect recent cost of living pressures to continue. 

According to a new poll by research company Ipsos, a Global Country Average of 40% of consumers say they expect their disposable income to fall over the next year. 

This is larger than the proportion who expect their disposable income to stay the same (31%) or increase (22%).

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.

Consumer outlook

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By contrast, the countries which 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.

The study also finds those living in Latin America are more likely to report struggling with the cost of living. Across the 28 countries, three in 10 people report finding it difficult to get by financially (29%) and the same proportion say they are just about getting by (30%). 

Latin Americans are particularly concerned

Argentinian citizens are the most likely to be struggling, with two thirds (66%) finding it difficult to get by. While people in Turkey are close behind on 64%, the rest of the top five countries reporting financial challenges are also from Latin America: 51% in Chile, 49% in Brazil and 48% in Peru.

At the other end of the scale, just over one in 10 of the global public feel they are living comfortably, including 28% of Chinese citizens and 27% of Swedes.

Three quarters of the global public are concerned about the cost of goods and services increasing over the next six months (77%). This includes 91% of Hungarians, 88% of those in South Africa and 86% of Argentines. Even in China where the concern is lowest, 45% say this is a worry over the next half year.

Other areas of significant public concern include:

  • 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 highest in Great Britain, where 67% are worried about their ability to pay utility bills.
  • 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.
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