New Delhi With the COVID-pandemic expected to subside, Indian households are now reporting growing concerns around conflict, the state of the economy and unprecedented high inflation in Ukraine, according to Kantar’s Global Issues Barometer Survey.
The study surveyed 800 people in India out of a pool of 11,000 consumers globally. It was held in 19 countries, representing 68% of the global GDP.
Conflict in Ukraine remains the top concern for those surveyed in India, followed by economic concerns and the cost of living crisis.
Asked to spontaneously share their top concerns, 37% of those surveyed in India mentioned war, followed by 29% of economic issues as their top concerns. Climate and environment issues emerged among the top three concerns. Meanwhile, for 27% of those surveyed, the pandemic is still an issue, while 17% of those surveyed cited inflation as a major concern.
However, two-thirds of those surveyed in India feel secure in their jobs and expect wage growth to match inflation. Compared to the previous year, more consumers reported feeling secure around employment. According to the survey, Indians are expected to have a higher salary than the rest of the world.
“The cost of living crisis is number two on people’s minds. Fuel, food and household bills saw the biggest increase in prices. Compared to the world, Indians feel the pinch of price hikes on white goods is higher,” according to a survey by a marketing data and analytics company.
Soumya Mohanty, Managing Director, South Asia, said, “The current set of global events is affecting the long-term plans as well as the short-term behavior of Indians. Mohanty said that apart from cutting general expenditure, people are rationalizing their future savings and working hard.
In fact, for 74% of Indians, the rising cost of living is one of the issues affecting their major life plans. Additionally, 29% of Indians said they had started reducing the amount of their savings, which is higher than the global average. Kantar estimates that luxury goods, entertainment services and vacations may bear the brunt as consumers rationalize household budgets. “Nearly half of households (41%) are considering reducing subscriptions to entertainment subscriptions – an industry that fared well during the pandemic. Over the long term, nearly three-quarters say the current turmoil is affecting their bigger plans for life; Savings for major future events (47%), children’s education (27%) and retirement plans (24%),” the survey found.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 is no longer seen as a pressing issue, it said. “Things have moved on from Covid, some of the pessimism around the pandemic is going down. There was a little bit of worry about the future, about jobs — that kind of worry we’re seeing growing. Obviously, the biggest change that has taken place is inflation and the state of the economy. People are very worried about this. It is very much about how families optimize their spending,” said Deepender Rana, executive managing director, South Asia, Insight Division, Kantar.
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