The impact of COVID-19 on the costs of Ukrainians
64% of respondents said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the costs of their households have increased, in the future most are willing to save their costs
In the second wave of the Global Advisor survey, Ipsos continued to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of Ukrainians. In particular, the impact of the coronavirus on the costs of Ukrainian households - whether they have changed and, if so, how much.
64% of respondents indicated that in general, since the beginning of the pandemic, their costs and the costs of their families have increased - 31% said that their costs have increased significantly, 33% - slightly increased.
Among the reasons for the increase in costs, half (51%) indicated that they incurred additional costs due to the fact that they currently spend more time at home (including work). Occasionally, according to our other Consumer Barometer * survey, in early April, 37% of Ukrainians worked part-time or on the distance (72% of those working at the time).
In addition, a significant proportion of respondents (41%) were forced to make more expensive purchases (eg food, household goods, personal care products, etc.) or pay for the delivery of goods due to store closures.
Every fifth respondent (21%) spent more on goods and services to relieve stress caused by quarantine / isolation, such as food, alcohol, furniture, electronics, books, toys
Probably as a result, spending on food and household goods (62% of respondents), utilities and telephone services, Internet services (49%), personal care and beauty (41%) increased. According to the Ipsos Consumer Barometer1, at the beginning of quarantine measures (end of March) 69% of respondents were not going to save on food, 52% - on mobile communications and Internet services, 27%2 - on utilities.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic, 45% of respondents have increased spending on heathcare and medicines in general, and 4% of respondents have paid for medical care directly related to COVID-19.
In terms of cost reduction, since the beginning of the coronavirus, 30% have spent less on entertainment, 27% - on transport and the same - 27% - on clothing, shoes, accessories.
The impact of COVID-19 on the costs of Ukrainians, in addition to the short-term effect, also affected the changes in their attitudes to the future - most are willing to spend less.
1Consumer Barometer -
2It is worth noting that the intention to economize on utilities changed within two months - if in March 27% said they would not economize on these services, then in early June, 42% were not going to save on utilities. The share of those who were willing to save remained stable at 17-20% level.