Page 43 - RusRPTSept23

spending on food and essential goods increased by 3 percentage points over the month of July - from 16% in June to 19% in July, the latest study by M-Pulse showed.
Respondents who chose saving on food and essential goods as a way to overcome economic hardship told how they cut spending on it. Thus, 62% (+1 p.p. compared to June) prefer goods with discounts or promotions, and 58% (+5 p.p.) choose more affordable options.
51% (+2 p.p.) of respondents in this group visit shops with low prices in order to save money. 55% (+7 p.p.) refuse some categories of goods, 45% (+5 p.p.) replace these categories with others.
36% (+6 p.p.) choose cheaper private label goods (PL) instead of familiar brands.
33% (-6 p.p.) noted that pre-compiled shopping lists help them save money, and 34% (-1 p.p.) see the effect of reducing trips to stores in general. At the same time, 9% (-3 p.p.), on the contrary, use the strategy of more frequent orders for home delivery of groceries to save money.
"Against the backdrop of the current economic situation and rising prices, Russians are trying to save money. They are finding alternatives to familiar products that can be purchased at more affordable prices. This explains the increase in the share of such answers over the past month. It is interesting to follow the situation - what we will see in August and of the summer season as a whole ," comments Romir Ksenia Paizanskaya, Senior Account Director .
Half of Russians who relocated to Almaty in 2022 now returned, Russian consul general says. Yevgeny Bobrov emphasizes that the situation with demand by Russian citizens for the consular services remains acute. Kazakhstan has a limited residency permit rights for Russians, who do not need a visa to enter, but can’t stay on for more than three months without permission.
RUSSIA Country Report September 2023 www.intellinews.com