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The general rise in prices is hitting a good two-thirds (69 percent) of Austrians hard. The price increases for electricity and food have also changed consumer behavior significantly. In other words, savings are being made wherever possible. This was the result of a recent survey by the Linz opinion research institute IMAS, which was published on Tuesday. 22 percent even said that their household was “very badly” affected by inflation, 47 percent said “rather badly”. 21 percent said they felt “rather no” stress. Only five percent want to feel “nothing at all”, five percent gave no information.
The increased cost of living has led to very to moderately high savings, especially when eating out or ordering (63 percent), on vacation (54 percent), when shopping for groceries (57 percent) and when buying furniture (54 percent). When it comes to sports (34 percent) or hobbies, on the other hand, only 34 and 43 percent respectively make sure to reduce their spending.
The purchasing behavior itself has also changed for more than half of Austrians. When asked what specifically had changed, 62 percent said they now wait longer and more frequently for promotions, or only reach for special offers at all. 45 percent now go shopping less often and 44 percent buy fewer products altogether. Almost a third stated that they buy more second-hand goods than before. According to the study, women (55 percent) were generally more price-conscious than men (51 percent).
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Furthermore, IMAS raised the general mood of the Austrians again. And this year this is “below average optimistic”. While it used to be – as a longitudinal analysis since 1972 has shown – that the fear of losing one’s job was the main reason why respondents were soured, since the outbreak of war in Ukraine it has been inflation. For example, people who are particularly affected by the need to make savings were significantly more pessimistic and worried about the next twelve months, specifically 71 percent. On the other hand, only 57 percent of the group that is hardly or not at all affected by inflation in everyday life was pessimistic.
1,033 people aged 16 and over were interviewed face-to-face between June 6 and 30 for the study.
Source: Nachrichten
