Pinoy urbanites none the richer but the wiser 10 yrs hence, study says

Filipino city-dwellers may not have gotten any richer in the past decade, but rather much more than a penny (or centavo) smarter.

The socio-economic status of majority of Filipino consumers in urban areas may not have improved much over the past 10 years, but Filipinos are exhibiting wiser purchasing habits in the more recent past, Kantar Worldpanel showed in a household purchase tracking study it released on Thursday.

Kantar Worldpanel — a consultancy network’s syndicated consumer panel that does research on purchase and usage behavior — revealed that majority of Filipino households in cities still belong to socio-economic classes D (64 percent) and E (23 percent).

The Kantar network used its Household Purchase Panel to keep track of purchases of 2,000 urban households in the country over a 10-year period from 2001-2010.

Brand loyal, promo hunters

The study showed that in the past five years, more Filipinos have become promotion hunters due to their limited budgets. In 2010, households that bought sales promotion products rose to 68 percent, up 18 percentage points from 2005.

Moreover, those who canvass for the best promotion before purchasing went up to 72 percent in 2010, a 13-point increase from 2005. Meanwhile, consumers who compared prices before making purchases slightly increased to 79 percent in 2010 from 77 percent in 2005.

Kantar Worldpanel data also revealed that despite being promotion hunters, Filipino consumers remained loyal to their favorite brands, with 79 percent buying their favorite brand over other products with a promotion in 2010. In addition, 62 percent of consumers stocked up on their favorite brand when on sale.

Health, beauty conscious consumers

The study also noted that Filipinos prioritized health and beauty products despite their low incomes. The desire to improve complexion increased by 19 percentage points, while making one’s skin beautiful significantly rose 21 percentage points in 2010 compared to 5 years ago.

Filipinos have become more health-conscious too. A total of 93 percent of Filipinos preferred to buy healthy foods in 2010, up from 83 percent in 2005. When purchasing food items, 90 percent of consumers read the labels first to avoid buying unhealthy foods. More Filipinos have also started exercising (a 13 percentage-point increase from 2005) and put great effort in keeping their bodies in good shape (up by 17 percentage points from 2005).

Shopping for convenience

Convenience remains a valued consideration for Filipinos, according to the study. In fact, products that offered convenience grew the fastest over the past five years. Ready-to-drink teas, coffees, and cereal beverages claimed the top three spots, among all other products purchased by households. Kantar Worldpanel disclosed that in 2010, a total of 78 percent of Filipinos favored food that was convenient to eat or prepare, and 80 percent of respondents preferred to spend little time cooking and preparing food.

Consistent with having a predominantly Class DE market, sari-sari stores remained the main retail channel for Filipino consumers, capturing 39 percent of the total value of consumer goods sold in the urban areas of the country. Nonetheless, contribution of supermarkets increased to 34 percent from 31 percent over the past five years. The top five retail stores in the country, based on the study, were SM, Mercury Drug, Gaisano, Puregold and Robinsons. — Marlon Anthony Tonson, GMA News