A survey by the Federal Trade for Develoment Centre Enabel has found that issues related to rising energy prices and purchasing power are the main concerns of over 80% of people in Belgium. 1,504 people aged 16 and over took part in the survey that was carried out between 30 June and 11 July.
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Purchasing power and energy prices are Belgians’ biggest concerns
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The survey found that 85% of responded are concerned about rising energy and commodity prices. Meanwhile, 83% are concerned about (falling) purchasing power. Health is of concern to 4 out of 5 people that took part in the survey with pollution (77%) and climate change (73%) completing the top five issues of concern.
80% of people in Belgium say that they have made at least some changes to their purchasing behaviour by for, example buying supermarket own band product or shopping more often as discount chains.
Price has become a ever more determining factor when it comes to choosing what to buy when purchasing groceries. Six out of ten people that took part in the survey say that they are now price conscious when they visit their local supermarket. This is a significant rise on 37% of respondents to last year’s survey that said that price was a major determining factor when they went shopping for groceries.
Sustainable and fairtrade
46% of respondents said that whether a product has been produced locally is their main concern before making a purchase. 16% say that they try and buy organic produce when they can, while 17% of those that took part in the survey say that whether or not a product is fairtrade is the most important factor when they decide what they are going to buy.
Meanwhile, 60% of respondents said that they think that it is important to be able to buy local and/or fairtrade products even if it is not their main criteria when making a purchase. The main obstacle to buying local, organic and fairtrade products is price. 61% of respondents said that this is an issue. A lack of availability of this kind products in the shops was given by 1 in 4 respondents as a reason for not purchasing them.