Spending less, saving on leisure and donating to the Armed Forces

The onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion has had a significant impact on all areas of our lives. Inflation, rising prices, disrupted supply chains, and rising unemployment have also affected the consumer behavior of Ukrainians.

Deloitte Ukraine explored how the full-scale invasion has affected the consumer sentiment of Ukrainians, what they were buying in 2022, their attitude to goods associated with Russia, how much they donated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, what products they were buying less to save money, and what they were willing to spend more on.

The Ukraine Consumer Sentiment After the Full-Scale Invasion is the third annual study of consumer behavior when choosing different categories of products. Below are key findings from the survey.

New trends in purchasing activity

With the outbreak of a full-scale war, Ukrainians started to cut their spendings and buy less. Depending on the product category, between 47% and 86% of respondents said they were spending less to save money. At the same time, Ukrainians saved the least on medicines, with one-third of respondents indicating increase in spendings on this category of products.

Overall, 33% of Ukrainians started spending less on food shopping, whereas more than half of respondents said they were ready to cut back on food purchases. This is most common among residents of the northern regions (80%) and least common in the western regions (65%). At the same time, 58% of Ukrainians buy food as a strategic reserve.

The full-scale invasion has made it virtually impossible to enjoy active leisure time, particularly affecting visits to cinemas, concerts, restaurants, sports clubs, etc. More than half of Ukrainians started to cook at home more often and use taxi services less often (55% and 66% of respondents respectively).

Offline vs online

Same as last year, the majority of Ukrainians prefer to shop at traditional stores, as they offer an opportunity to see and check the products in person before buying, but the share of such consumers has decreased significantly (from 83% in 2021 down to 55% in 2022). One in four respondents do not feel safe in traditional stores; however, this figure decreased by 8 percentage points during the war year compared to the COVID year of 2021.

Online shopping is increasingly becoming a commonplace to buy goods. Among the main advantages offered by online shopping are time saving and affordable prices.

Boycotting goods associated with Russia and social responsibility of business

Overall, 71% of Ukrainians surveyed refused to buy goods from the manufacturers or sellers who has not left the market of the Russian Federation. At the same time, every fifth respondent took a neutral position on this issue.

More than one-third of respondents are willing to pay more for goods from manufacturers or businesses that support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and/or those who suffered from the war. The highest loyalty is demonstrated by Ukrainians with IDP (internally displaced persons) status, men, residents of the western regions, respondents in the age group of 28-57 years, and employed Ukrainians.

Only 3% of Ukrainians said that they do not consider it important whether business or manufacturer supports the Armed Forces and/or those affected by the war when choosing products.

Donations to the Armed Forces and financial support to victims of Russian aggression

As many as 90% of Ukrainians said they donate to help the Armed Forces and/or those who suffered from the war. The majority of participants surveyed donate every now and then, one in five respondents do so regularly, and one in four do so occasionally.

The highest percentage of those who donate money to help the Armed Forces and/or those affected by the hostilities is among the respondents with IDP status (94%). Regular support is provided by 25% of internally displaced persons, 21% of Ukrainians who have not changed their place of residence, and 17% of Ukrainians who have moved abroad.

Residents of the capital and western regions are the most active in donating money to support the Armed Forces (93% each). They are also the leaders in terms of providing regular support to the Armed Forces and those affected by the war (25% and 22% respectively). As for the activity of other regions, more than 85% of residents of the southern region and almost 90% of residents of the northern and eastern regions donate to the needs of Ukraine’s defenders. Only 14% of Ukrainians who have moved abroad and 6% of Ukrainians with IDP status do not donate.

Ukrainians with IDP status are leaders in terms of making purchases

The choice of certain categories of goods and shopping activity was significantly affected by the forced relocation of people. For this reason, Ukrainians with IDP status are the leaders in terms of the average amount spent on products in most segments surveyed and the frequency of purchases.

Almost one third of Ukrainians with IDP status have increased the frequency of purchases in both offline and online stores, which is almost twice the average for Ukraine. The above category of respondents most often bought furniture and household goods (one purchase per month), whereas the average amount spent on this category of goods (UAH 2,073) is almost 25% lower than the average for Ukraine.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainians have started to spend less and buy less frequently almost all categories of products. Despite official statistics showing the increase in prices by more than 25% in 2022, the average shopping bill of Ukrainians decreased: on food by 8%, on electronics by 11%, and on children’s products by a third. The full-scale war has also affected consumer attitude toward brands. For example, the majority of respondents refuse to buy goods associated with the Russian Federation, and more than a third of respondents are willing to buy more expensive products from socially responsible businesses that support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and those affected by the war.

After the victory, the consumer behavior of Ukrainians will be determined by such key factors as ability to manage inflation expectations in the country, provide jobs, reduce unemployment, as well as the success of policies to restore social integrity and encourage the return of Ukrainians who were forced to seek refuge abroad, said Oleksandr Yampolskyi, Leader of Retail and Wholesale Distribution Group at Deloitte Ukraine.

About the survey

The survey of Ukrainians that formed the basis of the study was conducted during the period from 30 November to 7 December 2022. More than 1,100 respondents aged 18 and older participated in the survey representing all regions of Ukraine (other than temporarily occupied territories and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea), as well as Ukrainians who are temporarily staying abroad.

The survey was held by means of online interviews based on a quota sample that corresponds to the social and demographic portrait of Ukrainian people.