Almost 50% of Russians demonstrate appetite for loans and higher consumption after pandemic

43% of Russians surveyed say the pandemic and restrictive measures did not affect their spending at all. Least of all, the lockdown affected the expenses of residents of the North Caucasus Federal District (65% of them kept their expenses unchanged), while residents of the Volga and Ural Federal Districts suffered most of all (29% and 37% of those with unchanged expenses, respectively).

28% of respondents increased spending during the pandemic. At the same time, 11% of Russians (16% of residents of the Moscow region and as few as 7% in the Southern Federal District and in Siberia) attribute this fact to an increase in spending on leisure activity and non-food products, and 17% of respondents (23% in the Southern Federal District and as few as 10% of residents of Moscow and the Moscow region) refer to the need to solve the emerging everyday problems.

25% of respondents cut spending due to loss of income. Residents of the Northwest Federal District and the Urals have to tighten the purse strings much more as compared to others (32% in each region), while the residents of the North Caucasus (8%) and the Far East (18%) were affected least of all.

39% of Russians said the quarantine had no effect on their income (with 45% of residents of the Moscow region, the North Caucasus, Siberia and the Far East saying so). 9% of Russians said their incomes had even increased during the quarantine. Most of the lucky few live in Moscow and the Moscow region (15%), as well as in the Far East (15%) and the North Caucasus (12%).

49% of respondents indicated a decrease in their incomes because of restrictive antiviral measures. In the Northwestern Federal District, those who lost their income were in majority (53%), while the lowest numbers of those live in the Moscow region and the North Caucasus (33% each).

Despite the impact of the lockdown and the pandemic, 46% of Russians surveyed say they are ready to take out new loans should such a need arise. Most of the credit “fans” live in the Urals (63%) and in the Northwest Federal District (50%). At the same time, as few as 29% of residents of the North Caucasus and 35% of Muscovites and residents of the Moscow region said they were ready for new loans. 16% of respondents, in principle, are not against loans, but would not take out them right now because they have no need or already have obligations to banks. Almost none of the respondents explained their unwillingness to take out a credit by the fear of losing their jobs during a new lockdown. 38% of Russians have never taken loans and are not going to do so, with most of them being residents of the North Caucasus (57%) and the Moscow region (49%).

Almost a quarter of Russians surveyed (24%) say they worked as usual during the quarantine. Most of those were found in the Urals (38%) and Siberia (32%), least of all – in the North Caucasus (10%), the Moscow region and the Northwest Federal District (19% each). Another 40% resumed their work as before (17% of them came back to their offices from the “remote locations”, 23% of the respondents resumed work after a temporary rest). 12% of the respondents continue to work from home. 16% of Russians surveyed say they are looking for a new job.