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Johannesburg - South Africans are not planning to splurge on shopping over the festive season, a survey showed on Wednesday.
"Nearly two-thirds (62%) of South African shoppers have indicated that they will spend the same or less than they did last year over the coming holiday season," according to the Deloitte Year-end Holiday Survey conducted in 19 countries.
The survey showed pessimism among South African consumers has increased. When asked about the current state of the economy, 41% of South African consumers surveyed said that they believed the economy was still in recession.
Among local respondents, 45% believe the economy will improve in 2011, compared with 65% last year. Only 26% believe the economy will stay the same.
However, Greek, Irish and Portuguese consumers are the most pessimistic of all the countries surveyed.
South Africans were more negative about job security.
Only one in two South Africans surveyed in 2010 said they considered their jobs to be secure, compared to 58% in 2009 and 81% in 2008.
“The rise in job insecurity, however, is not surprising given that job losses have continued to mount through the third quarter of 2010, and considering that a rise in unemployment typically lags a deterioration in economic activity,” said Kay Walsh, senior economist at Deloitte.
The amount budgeted to spend over the festive season was expected to be 2.5% lower on average across all the countries surveyed.
"In South Africa, the outlook for holiday spending is also quite bleak, albeit slightly better than in Europe with consumers indicating that they aim to spend 0.6% less than in the prior year."
South Africans plan to bargain hunt, with 79% saying they would buy products and gifts on sale, compared to 69% of Europeans.
"A whopping 87% of consumers also indicated that they will be focusing on purchasing useful gifts this season."
They also want to plan their shopping, with 78% saying they would prefer not to buy on impulse.
Parents are planning to buy useful gifts for their children, with 17 of the 19 countries surveyed showing that educational games will be the top gift purchased for children under the age of 12.
