Blackbox and ADNA recently ran a survey and found that the financial pressures we’re all feeling are not just in our heads. They polled over 3,000 Southeast Asians and revealed that nearly 90% of them have cut back on household costs and expenses.
These austere lifestyles are attributed to things like the pandemic, high living costs, energy crisis, dire geopolitical events around the world and the ever-escalating climate crisis. The external economic situations seem to be the main cause Southeast Asian wanting to think twice about spending more.
As expected, the survey results show that wealthier people had a less negative experience, as their spending habits were impacted less in general. This year, Southeast Asian online shoppers saw a 9% dip in their spending, with the total purchasing power only increasing by 6%, compared to last year. And, whilst online shopping isn’t safe from inflation, it has been proven that people are still more likely to buy from a physical store.
In total, the expected rise in inflation and interest rates has made 67% of Southeast Asians more worried about the current state of things than anything else.
