The long-term consequences of COVID-19 pandemic have a higher impact on the level of Romanians’ financial welfare, but also of the Europeans as a whole, reads a Intrum study, “European Consumer Payment Report 2020″ conducted on 4,800 consumers from 24 countries in Europe, Romania included.
While the hiring rate is on decline, and the unemployment is on the rise, the consumers’ anxiety on the personal finances is more and more visible, according to the survey.
67% of the Romanian respondents said that, as against six months ago, their financial welfare is on a visible decline. 72% of the interviewed women and 61% of the men, mainly aged from 22 to 37, said that their financial welfare had dropped following COVID-19.
Romania ranks following Greece, while the European average stands at 47%.
“What is improving in the case of the consumers whose revenues have not decreased is that 55% of them made savings during this period, paid more attention to the price tags and avoided impulsive shopping. At the same time, a quarter of the Romanian consumers will remain consistent with the online shopping, even after all restrictions are lifted”, said Simona Mincu, marketing manager Intrum Romania.
As for the six-month predictions, the customers declared their optimism, with 29% Romanians expecting an improvement of their financial situation in the upcoming half-year.
As for the Covid-19 pandemic, the Romanian consumers’ standard of living has reported several changes:
- 41% of the Romanians said their job had been affected by the coronavirus crisis, reporting drops in salaries or furloughs.
- 38% of the consumers stated that after paying the bills they hardly find resources for the monthly expenditure, with the most affected age group being the one 38-44 years old.
- 65% of the respondents delayed the payment of bills to cope with the monthly expenses.
- Due to Covid-19, 54% of consumers became more indebted in order to cope with the daily expenses.
On the other hand, the survey is revealing also a bright side: 33% of the Romanian consumers say that the Covid-19 situation had a positive impact on the administration of their personal finances, as they tried to spend less for the basic necessities. The European average stands at 36%, while states such as Estonia (65%), France (46%) or Ireland (47%) rank well at this chapter.