The Global Economic Crisis: The Impact on BRIC Consumer Attitudes Towards Financial Services

Introduction

The global economic downturn has impacted BRIC consumers differently than elsewhere, and must be acknowledged to effectively meet consumers' financial needs.

Scope

*Detailed analysis documenting BRIC consumers' 'recessionary mindset' and how this influences perceptions about current and future prospects

*Insights highlight how the economic downturn has affected emotional wellbeing and financial security in the BRIC bloc compared to the global average

*Detailed discussion of what the downturn means for saving and investment products and what must be done to once again engage consumers

Highlights

Stress and happiness indictors are important to note, as they reveal the state of mind and likely future intentions of BRIC consumers. Faced with the uncertainty of the economic and financial landscape, there exists an opportunity for financial service providers to supply products that provide peace of mind.

BRIC consumers have learnt the lessons of the economic crisis and are looking to build a savings buffer to help mitigate further problems and reduce their stress levels. This buffer is the driver of short-term savings behavior, but there are also incentives for BRIC consumers to consider saving further into the future.

BRIC countries have not suffered the same levels of banking collapse as seen elsewhere and as such, there has been less extensive negative media coverage. In contrast, BRIC consumers are more likely to have had their trust damaged by a personal incident than global consumers.

Reasons to Purchase

*Gain a detailed understanding of changing consumer attitudes amid the global downturn in order to build appropriate recessionary strategies

*Assist consumer segmentation and targeting efforts by accessing data from Datamonitor's Global FS Consumer Insight survey


Report Highlights
Stress and happiness indictors are important to note, as they reveal the state of mind and likely future intentions of BRIC consumers. Faced with the uncertainty of the economic and financial landscape, there exists an opportunity for financial service providers to supply products that provide peace of mind.

BRIC consumers have learnt the lessons of the economic crisis and are looking to build a savings buffer to help mitigate further problems and reduce their stress levels. This buffer is the driver of short-term savings behavior, but there are also incentives for BRIC consumers to consider saving further into the future.

BRIC countries have not suffered the same levels of banking collapse as seen elsewhere and as such, there has been less extensive negative media coverage. In contrast, BRIC consumers are more likely to have had their trust damaged by a personal incident than global consumers.
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Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
The Future Decoded 2
INTRODUCTION: Understanding how recessionary mindsets influence attitudes towards and actual consumption is vital 2
Despite being more sheltered from the economic crisis than the rest of the world, the BRIC economies have still been hit hard 2
The BRIC countries were all affected by global economic crisis, although they now look to be back on track 3
Brazil's industrial demand was hit as both foreign investment money and domestic demand diminished 3
Russia's dependency on oil led to the deepest recession among the BRIC countries 3
India's export model led to dampened economic growth in 2009 3
China suffered from a collapse in export demand and shortfalls in foreign investment 3
Consumer attitudes reflect a less damaging BRIC experience 4
The decline in economic conditions is not as badly reflected in the state of household finances 7
BRIC consumers' stress levels have worsened alongside the global average, perhaps driven by different factors than the global community 13
BRIC consumers are much more positive than global consumers across all predictions 15
BRIC consumers show higher levels of concern than global consumers 17
BRIC consumers are particularly concerned about the value of their savings before the economic downturn 17
KEY TAKEOUT: BRIC consumers are more concerned with every aspect of their finances than global consumers 19
Since the downturn, long-term concerns have increased while short-term concerns remain unchanged or diminished 21
ACTION POINT: FS providers must address the anxiety of BRIC consumers with products and advice geared to alleviate this concern 22
Increased concerns have translated into action within the BRIC bloc, though these remain dampened by consumer uncertainty 24
BRIC consumers intend to increase their saving activity and look for long-term investment opportunities 24
BRIC consumers are looking to invest more in the long run, driven by a number of factors 24
BRIC consumers are more likely to reduce their debt over the next six months compared to the global average 27
BRIC consumers are more proactive in their financial dealings than their global peers 27
BRIC consumers are showing greater eagerness to explore new options for their finances 28
BRIC consumers are more likely to utilize the services offered at their primary bank, but may still explore new opportunities available elsewhere 28
Mounting competition could lead to a make or break situation for primary banks 28
BRIC consumers are more likely to seek out financial advice 29
BRIC consumers have a slightly more positive outlook on financial advice than their global peers 31
Brazilians support their primary bank, but need the services to be affordable 31
Russian consumers are strongly against paying upfront for financial advice 32
Indian consumers are willing and able to pay for financial advice 33
Chinese consumers look to online resources for financial services, and are resistant to the idea of paying for advice upfront 34
Financial security tops price for BRIC consumers 35
BRIC consumers are concerned with the ethical/green credentials that accompany their financial products 35
ACTION POINT: FS providers must construct a well-rounded value proposition to entice the more selective BRIC consumer 36
Brazilian consumers are equally focused on the stability and the return/price of the product offering 37
Compared to the rest of the BRIC bloc, Russian consumers are much less interested in the green/ethical credentials offered by their financial products 38
Indian consumers are especially interested in ethical and green credentials 39
Chinese consumers are influenced by a number of factors when making product decisions 40
BRIC consumers appear to have a higher and more resilient level of trust in their primary bank, and in the banking industry as a whole 41
BRIC consumers have been more influenced by a personal incident than global consumers 43
BRIC consumers are much more at ease with the actions of their bank than global consumers 44
BRIC consumers' lower product holdings in certain areas reveal potential for the future 46
BRIC consumers have high holdings of basic savings accounts and credit cards, but fail to embrace more sophisticated products 46
ACTION POINT: FS providers need to guide BRIC consumers' enthusiasm for saving into more sophisticated products that still provide peace of mind 46
Current accounts and certain insurance products are not as common among BRIC consumers 46
Appendix 50
Methodology 50
Ask the analyst 51
Datamonitor consulting 51
Disclaimer 51
List of Figures
Figure 1: Datamonitor's Recession and Recovery portal will allow industry players to continually identify emerging opportunities and track what is happening in economies around the world 2
Figure 2: All four BRIC countries saw their growth dampened by the global economic crisis 4
Figure 3: BRIC economies have been more resilient to the global economic downturn 5
Figure 4: Russia is closer to the global average than the other BRIC countries 5
Figure 5: BRIC consumers stand apart from the rest of the FSCI sample 7
Figure 6: BRIC consumers have witnessed some improvements despite the global malaise 8
Figure 7: Russian consumers have felt the bite of the recession 8
Figure 8: Most BRIC consumers' finances have remained unchanged or seen some improvement 10
Figure 9: Chinese consumers' finances have largely remained the same 10
Figure 10: Job security has mostly remained constant,, with some smaller consumer segments seeing improvements 12
Figure 11: Russian consumers have seen their job security damaged as a result of the recession 12
Figure 12: Unemployment in the BRIC bloc rose in 2009 but looks set to decline thereafter, with Russia catching up in 2010 13
Figure 13: BRIC consumers are reporting an increase in the levels of stress in their lives 14
Figure 14: Russian consumers have seen the greatest increases in stress 14
Figure 15: BRIC consumers are more positive in their expectations than global consumers 16
Figure 16: Brazilian optimism contrasts the Russian outlook 16
Figure 17: BRIC concerns for saving are clear and offer opportunities for alert FS providers 18
Figure 18: Chinese consumers are more concerned about savings issues 18
Figure 19: BRIC consumers revealed elevated concerns before the downturn compared to global consumers 20
Figure 20: Chinese consumers were, in general, the most concerned consumer group 20
Figure 21: BRIC concerns have increased as a result of the downturn and remain higher than global consumers 21
Figure 22: Russian concerns have increased since the recession 22
Figure 23: Some FS providers have already made marketing promotions focused around rebuilding confidence 23
Figure 24: Paying more into savings and investing for the long term received positive responses 25
Figure 25: Brazilian consumers are intending to increase saving and reduce debt 25
Figure 26: Russian consumers will remain relatively inactive over the next 6 months 26
Figure 27: Indian consumers are very interested in saving and investing for the longer term 26
Figure 28: Chinese consumers will save more over the next 6 months 27
Figure 29: BRIC consumers are eager to take the initiative when queried on specific opportunities 29
Figure 30: BRIC consumers are mildly positive concerning financial advice compared to the negative global consumer 30
Figure 31: Brazilian consumers seem resistant to professional financial advice 30
Figure 32: Primary banks take the lead in advice in BRIC countries 31
Figure 33: Brazilian consumers look to their primary banks for their financial advice needs 32
Figure 34: Russian consumers reject upfront payments for financial advice 33
Figure 35: Indian consumers accept the concept of paying upfront for financial advice 34
Figure 36: Chinese consumers utilize online resources, pointing towards a strong future for a price comparison market 35
Figure 37: Financial stability is essential to the financial decision-making process of BRIC consumers 37
Figure 38: Brazilian consumers pay equal attention to price/return and financial stability 38
Figure 39: Ethical credentials fall by the wayside as stability and cost dominate 39
Figure 40: Ethical credentials are of great importance to the Indian consumer 40
Figure 41: Chinese consumers take a number of factors into account when making FS decisions 41
Figure 42: BRIC consumers' trust levels remain resilient to the global concerns 42
Figure 43: Brazilians see trust as particularly important for financial decision making 42
Figure 44: Publicity is influential, but personal events also affect BRIC consumers 43
Figure 45: Chinese consumers' trust levels were effected by a personal incident 44
Figure 46: BRIC consumers are much more reassured with the performance of their banks 45
Figure 47: Chinese consumers have been more effectively reassured by their bank 45
Figure 48: Instant savings products satisfy BRIC consumers' appetite for savings, but they should be encouraged to move on to more sophisticated savings products 47
Figure 49: Russian consumers have quite low product holdings in general 47
Figure 50: BRIC consumers have higher holdings of pension products, reflecting their higher anxieties for the future 48
Figure 51: Chinese consumers have very high holdings of pension products 49

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