Reveal Marketing Research Study: Romanians Today. A Current Perspective on the Future from the Romanians’ Viewpoint

If in the spring of 2020 only 21% of Romanians felt energetic and motivated, and their percentage dropped to 16% in the same period of 2021, this spring, 40% of Romanians say that their strongest feelings are on the positive side.

According to the latest Reveal Marketing Research study, the perception of negative feelings has also decreased overall – only 38% of Romanians say they feel angry, compared to 60% at the beginning of the pandemic (March 2020). Therefore, the exit from the pandemic and the removal of the restrictions imposed on the alert state increase the satisfaction with the mood, as it offers the possibility to return to normal.

Also, the level of optimism about the future is increasing, Romanians considering that next year will be 5 percent more satisfactory than this year. The most optimistic about the future are young people up to the age of 35.

What worries Romanians the most?

The general level of concern of Romanians in 2022 is increasing compared to last year (12%), returning to the same share of 18% as in the spring of 2020, a time marked by the beginning of the pandemic.

Concerns about a new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic are waning, with only 33% of Romanians saying this is a concern at this time.

In fact, the main issues that concern Romanians today are the foreshadowing of an economic crisis and rising prices for consumer goods, reported by 72% of Romanians, but also the war on Romania’s borders, a concern for 66% of Romanians.

Therefore, the new socio-economic context generated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict determines Romanians to have more confidence in defense institutions, namely NATO (40%), the Army (38%) and the Ministry of Defense (29%). These three institutions are in the top 5 institutions that Romanians trust, along with the European Union (37%) and the Church (33%).

Romanians consider that the institutions most responsible for the way things are going in Romania are those with decision-making power at the highest level (Romanian Government – 72%, Romanian Parliament – 64%, Political Parties – 62%), while only 1 in 3 Romanians consider individual responsibility an important factor in the way things are going in the country.

The evolution of consumption among Romanians

The pandemic has forced Romanians to spend less and products and services that meet basic needs (food, hygiene, cleaning, medicine, utilities, etc.) are the main destinations of spending. These were indicated by a percentage of 70% of Romanians over the past 3 years.

Compared to 2021, the spring of 2022 saw a decrease in household expenses (appliances, furniture, decorations) from 30% to 19% and an increase in spending on purchases related to personal development and experimentation with new things (travel / vacation , outings in the city) from 22% to 26%.

Against the background of the evolution of consumer behavior, we can see a slight decrease in the number of people who manage to save in 2022, compared to the previous two years (2021 and 2020).

Also, there is a slight decrease in the number of people saving in 2022, compared to 2021. If in 2021, 20% of Romanians said they save, in 2022 the percentage dropped to 18%.

Families with children still save the most (26%), while the percentage of young people between the ages of 25 and 35 decreased by 5 percent (19%) and the share of elderly people with saving behavior increased by 10 percent. (20%) compared to 2021.

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About Reveal Marketing Research

Reveal Marketing Research is a full-service market research company, specialized in market research, sociological studies, customer insight, business strategy, market development. With expertise in over 20 industries, Reveal Marketing Research believes that market research is the basis for the right decisions and brand positioning. Qualitative and quantitative solutions have been helping companies in Romania and Europe for 13 years.

Methodology: The Reveal Marketing Research study was conducted online between 28.03-01.04.2022, on a representative sample for the universe of people aged 18+, from urban areas. The sample size was 1003 respondents, and the maximum sampling error is +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence level. Romanians TODAY is a study that takes place monthly and shows current issues related to Romanians, but also their evolution over time.

*** The data belongs to the market research company Reveal Marketing Research and is used to put in context the future business studies for the company’s clients.