Consumers stare at uncertainty due to lockdown, inflation and rising fuel costs

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In various parts of the country, the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc which has left many households in qualms, coupled with the lockdown, rising fuel costs and inflation which has had a negative impact on incomes and spending.

According to a Mood of the Consumer 2021 survey conducted by LocalCircles, a community engagement forum, there is uncertainty with respect to household budget planning.

What the survey says

Earnings: Out of the total 15,489 responses, 79% say that their earnings will decline in this fiscal as compared to the previous fiscal. Of the 79%, 32% say that their earnings will fall by 25% or more. 12% say that their earnings will fall somewhere between 10-25%. Similarly, 10% of them say that their earnings will fall between 0-10%. Whereas, 25% say they do not know by how much the earnings would fall. 17% said that there would be no impact on their earnings.

On the contrary, 4% of respondents said that their earnings would increase for this fiscal year. Out of which 3%  say it would be between 0-25% and 1% say they do not know by how much.

Savings: In total there were 14,059 responses from which 49% say their savings are likely to decrease by 49%, among those 19% say their savings will decline between 0-25%, following which 17% say their savings would fall by over 25% and 13% say they do not know by how much.

In contrast, 27% of the total responses say their savings would likely increase by 27%, out of which 11% say their savings would increase by 25% or more, 8% say their income would likely increase between 0-25%, another 8% cannot say by how much.

Lastly, 19% said it would stay the same and 5% said they can’t say

Uncertainty in budget planning: From the 9084 responses surveyed, 47% expect uncertainty in budget planning to last 6-12 months for this fiscal. 30% of them say they see uncertainty in budget planning in the next 3-6 months. While 11% say they expect uncertainty in budget planning for the next 1-3 months. 3% of them say they see uncertainty for up to one month and 9% said they can’t say.