Poles’ Anxiety Index soars due to pandemic and state of finances: Deloitte

The latest edition of Deloitte’s Global State of the Consumer Tracker survey shows that Poles plan their expenses more carefully. Savings can be seen, among others for restaurant visits and take-out orders. Only 13 percent of the respondents are planning to increase spending for this purpose in the coming weeks, which is a decrease over a month by as much as 7 percentage points. We are also less willing to pay for various types of amenities, such as home delivery.

Although the current, pandemic-induced restrictions are accompanied by a growing fear about finances among Polish consumers, what definitely worries us the most is the health of ours and our loved ones. In Europe, only the Spaniards are declaring a higher level of anxiety than we are. Deloitte experts notice a rapid increase in the overall level of anxiety among Poles since the last survey (within a month, up to 4 percent, i.e. by as much as 12 percentage points). Deloitte's Anxiety Index is the net difference between people who agreed with "I'm more concerned than a week ago," and those who didn't. Among the reasons for concern, Covid-19 comes first (64 percent), and the financial condition comes second (49 percent).

“Our fears translate into consumer attitudes. From the end of August, the number of shoppers who declare that they are buying more than they are able to consume has decreased to 36 percent, i.e. by 4 pp. on a regular basis. This decline is even greater compared to the first half of June when as much as 44 percent of us admitted that we are buying more than we need at the moment. Even so, we are still number one in Europe when it comes to stockpiling, along with the UK population. Poles are also dominant among European consumers who are looking for the most advantageous shopping opportunities, although Germans have joined us. As much as 45 percent of customers hunt good prices in both countries,” Michał Tokarski, partner, leader of the consumer goods sector in Poland, Deloitte, said.

(WBJ)