Consumption, confidence, worries

Besides purchasing power, consumer confidence and buying willingness also have big influence on demand, and therefore on retail turnover. From this point of view it is good news that in Hungary only 19 percent named loans as their biggest worry in Q1 2104 – back in Q3 2013 this ratio was still 25 percent. The second biggest concern is losing one’s job: 17 percent named this as a problem last time. It is noteworthy that in Q3 2013 only 11 percent said they were worried about the state of the economy but in Q1 2014 already 16 percent were concerned. 9 percent mentioned health as their biggest concern in the next six months, 8 percent talked about their children’s well being and education and 7 percent named the possible increase in grocery prices. In about half of the examined European countries people are most worried about losing their jobs. Next on the European worry list is general economic conditions and the rising price of household energy – the latter was mentioned by 10 percent of the survey’s participants; this factor is hardly a concern in Hungary: only 2 percent of consumers is afraid of a rise in the price of household energy.