The 10ᵗʰ anniversary edition of Ferratum's international consumer behaviour survey brings surprising results

HELSINKI, June 6, 2019 /CNW/ - Ferratum Group's Summer Barometer™ 2019 results are announced, marking the 10^th consecutive successful survey. Over 22,000 households participated in the biannual survey which explored summer consumer spending behaviour across 17 countries. Data included summer activities, whether participants would make their purchases online or through traditional retail outlets and how does spending compare in different countries.

Ferratum Canada joins in on this special 10^th anniversary edition of the Summer Barometer™

This year's results show that 28% of the respondents will spend more money during the summer holiday season, when compared to the same period last year, while 39% indicated they will spend as much as they did last summer.

Surprising results in countries' spending

Some countries have shifted dramatically when compared with previous years. For example, Norway held the top-spender position with the biggest amount of spending money (out of disposable household income) allocated in 2018 at 68%. However, this year's results found Norway on 10^th place with only 36% of disposable household income used for the 2019 summer holiday.

Romania slid down eleven positions, moving from 6^th place to being the last one in chart, in another surprise movement for summer spending amongst the 17 countries. Romanian respondents were open to spending 58% of their disposable household income in 2018, but this number has dropped to only 12% in 2019.

Regarding the amount of monthly salary that would be spent during summer holidays, the big spenders are Mexico (66%), Bulgaria (56%), Spain (51%) and Latvia (43%). The lowest spenders in this category are Nordics like Finland (28%) and Denmark (26%) followed by Brazil (13%) and Romania (12%).

Canadians expect to spend 39% of their disposable income in the summer months, on par with their counterparts in the UK and the Netherlands. However, Canadians intend to make 27% of their purchases online, compared with 39% and 36% for residents of the UK and the Netherlands, respectively.  

Cash continues to lose favour in 2019. The future is mobile!

85% of respondents in Sweden, Denmark and Norway would choose cards over cash, according to the survey results. However, this trend is not limited to Scandinavia, and an overall total of more than 60% of survey participants indicated that they prefer cards to cash this summer, up from just over 50% in 2018.

Mobile banking services also saw an upswing: over 80% of respondents from Sweden, Netherlands, Canada, UK, Poland and Brazil said they would use mobile banking during this period. The survey shows more and more markets going digital for their banking.

Online and retail shopping at a standoff

Over 35% of respondents from the UK, Spain and the Netherlands said they would be shopping online for products and services this summer, while Latvia and Finland will continue to stick with more traditional retail for their summer purchases.

Travel trends stick close to home

Domestic travel takes the prize for the top spending activity this summer, as was the case in 2018. Travelling abroad only reaches 8^th on the spending list for the respondents. Those that were planning to allocate most of their summer budget on travelling were from Germany (65%), closely followed by Denmark (61%) and then the Netherlands (57%).

Respondents from Canada (54%) are the most willing to spend more than 100 € per night on hotel stays. Participants from Germany (73%), Bulgaria (45%) and Romania (37%) were more open to options like Airbnb for their travel accommodation.

Top summer spending for 2019

Respondents from all 17 countries would spend the most money on the following three activities: domestic travel (15% of their budget), personal/family recreational activities (12%) and summer activities like beach-going, parties and eating at restaurants (12%).

The UK's survey respondents were the only participants to highly rate fashion in this survey, being the sole country to list summer clothing as a main source of spending during the summer period. Norway and Denmark earn the world-traveller award by being the only two countries to list travelling abroad as a top activity for summer spending.

Canadians' spending continue to demonstrate their love for the summer weather, with 44% of their expected spend being allocated to social/recreational and sport events/activities, as well as summer clothing/fashion. A full 70% of respondants indicated that they expect to spend the same or more than they did last summer, indicating an uptick in consumer confidence in Canada's economy.

How was Ferratum Group Summer Barometer™ 2019 conducted?

• The survey was conducted by Ferratum Group who surveyed its active customers in 17 international countries via a web survey with a standardised questionnaire. Incomes are stated in local currencies, and relative summer consumption is calculated by the ratio of a family's monthly disposable income in each country. Disposable income was adjusted by each country, individual purchasing power parity is based on 2014 figures by The World Bank.
  
  
• Over 22,000 households participated in the survey. Respondents were aged from 18 to over 61. 53% of participants were women. The average available net income of participating households was between €827–3934. The average household size among the respondents was 2.9 persons.
  
  
• In addition to demographic factors, respondents were asked about their disposable monthly net income, how much money would be allocated for the summer holiday, what are the main activities this summer and if they are going to use services like Airbnb or online banking while travelling abroad.
  
  
• All survey responses were anonymous.

About Ferratum Group:

Ferratum Group is an international provider of mobile banking and digital consumer and small business loans, distributed and managed by mobile devices. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Ferratum has expanded rapidly to operate in 25 countries across Europe, Africa, South and North America and the Asia-Pacific region.

As a pioneer in digital and mobile financial services technology, Ferratum is at the forefront of the digital banking revolution. Ferratum's mobile bank, launched in 2016, is an innovative mobile banking platform offering a range of banking services, including real time digital payments and transfers, within a single app. It is currently available in five European markets. Ferratum has approximately 794,000 active customers that have an open Mobile Bank account or an active loan balance in the last 12 months (as at 31 March 2019).

Ferratum Group is listed on the Prime Standard of Frankfurt Stock Exchange under symbol 'FRU.' For more information, visit www.ferratumgroup.com.

SOURCE Ferratum Canada Inc.

Ferratum Group: Emmi Kyykkä, Business Support Manager for CEO, T: [phone]