Prepared by Kantar for Centromarca, the Portuguese Association of Companies, a survey has revealed that “the alert of the Portuguese has been intensifying regarding the negative impact [of the pandemic crisis] on the economy”, namely regarding “the possible collapse of social security structures and job loss”.
According to the conclusions of the study, “the pattern of consumption also changed with reverting to the state of calamity”, with the occurrence, starting on the 3rd and extending to the 17th of May, of “a greater presence of the Portuguese in stores, but with a marked decrease in the size of purchases”.
“The lack of definition and greater mobility generate shopping behaviour closer to what was seen before the pandemic, with a greater number of visits to stores and, consequently, a slightly lower volume of purchases in each of these visits. It should also be noted that - contrary to what was observed until the beginning of this crisis - the Portuguese prefer to make their purchases now on weekdays and not on weekends as before”, says the director-general of Centromarca, Pedro Pimentel, quoted in the statement.
Regarding purchases in the sector of ‘consumer goods’, the survey's conclusions also point out that "security measures in places of purchase and in the way the Portuguese consume have increased". This means that, according to the survery, there is a greater purchase of local products, less time spent in stores and a preference for stores closer to home, with respondents assuming that they are “in a 'deflation' but controlled” phase, avoiding the use of public transport and crowds.
“The type of products purchased, the time spent in stores and the physical establishments visited show us the direct impact that the virus has had on the new habits of the Portuguese,” explains Marta Santos, director at Kantar, who was responsible for overseeing the survey.
In relation to routines outside the home, the Portuguese claim to intend to spend their holidays within Portugal, but wanting to reduce their spending in the area of restaurants and bars, as well as leisure activities.
“A substantial part of the population still has some fear of returning to consumption activities outside the home. We believe that it is important to maintain prudent and responsible behaviour, but that it is necessary to alleviate excessive fears that can hinder the return and delay the necessary economic recovery in the country”, stresses the Pimentel, head of Centromarca. The survey was carried out on a sample of 4,000 participating households, representative of mainland Portugal and dispersed in more than one thousand survey points, where individuals declared their purchases over the first 20 weeks of 2020.
Comments
Brazil? Zero controls, social distancing etc. An authoritarian leader... a little flu? Not sure which news channels you have been looking at for the last two months, but without prompt action (check out Vietnam... 97M people!) Portugal could have easily been Brazil, UK, USA etc. Shocking to me that now things seem to be under control (thanks to a lot of hard work and sacrifices by a lot of people) that the nay sayers are coming out of the woodwork.
To date, PORTUGAL’S total number of deaths attributed to the new Coronavirus stands at 1,383.
Of these
929 over the age of 80;
270 over the age of 70
124 aged between 60-69.
60 have been under the age of 60
Those that have died appear to have had underlying conditions.
1926 people have this virus of which
1331 are at home
529 are in hospital
66 are in intensive care
Per end of April:
Available COVID infirmary beds was 1,963, with an occupancy rate of 48.8%
Available COVID intensive care beds was 620, with an occupancy rate of 31.6%”
PORTUGAL 29-05-2020
Total number of death: 1383
1926 people have this virus, of which
529 in hospital
66 in intensive care
ALGARVE 29-05-2020
At the moment 67 people have this virus (460.000 inhabitants)
The Algarve has 460.000 inhabitants.
27.000 people (17%) are unemployed!
Food for thought?!!!
More reason to be concerned on the impact of the draconian measures carried out by most governments in the EU and across the Atlantic, that will not only hurt the economy of most countries for years to come but also will also achieve the opposite of saving lives as we are slowly finding out about all those people that were denied or were too scared to seek proper health care during the period of house arrest.
All this based on flawed models that exaggerated the danger of the disease, that our politicians didn't even bother to verify. At the same time ignoring the numerous recommendations made by epidemiologist and other experts in the same field that confining healthy people has never stopped a respiratory illness as we now know.
No doubt politicians will be patting themselves in the back for a job well done.