Majority of affluent Filipinos sees Asian economy remaining strong - survey

MANILA, Philippines - Affluent Filipinos tend to be optimistic in terms of their attitude towards the Asian economy, with three out of five saying they felt the economy would remain strong, according to a survey conducted by Visa.

Among the 41 percent who said they were uncertain about the future of the Asian economy, 88 percent said they would consider reducing their spending on non-essentials as a result.

Singaporeans (83 percent) and Taiwanese (80 percent) respondents ranked second and third respectively behind Filipino respondents as the group most likely to cut discretionary spending.

Visa Country manager for the Philippines, Bob Joubert said: “The survey shows that the country’s top earning households are prudent in their spending and lifestyle choices, most especially when it involves non-essentials. Although consumer confidence in the market remains strong, we also get a sense of the cautiousness in spending even among the country’s affluent.”

The survey found that the high-earning Filipino consumers said they would look to reduce non-essential spending: 85 percent would reduce spending on electronic appliances, 81 percent on luxury goods and 78 percent on entertainment. Fashion and skincare products/cosmetics were less affected as only 54 and 43 percent of respondents, respectively said they would reduce spending for these non-essentials.

Spending on groceries, travel and utilities payments would remain at the top of the list of primary purchases of affluent Filipinos in an average month according to survey respondents. In fact, affluent Filipinos were found to be among most likely to spend the highest proportion of their budget on groceries across the Asia Pacific countries and territories included in the survey.