Lisbon, Oct. 31, 2024 (Lusa) - More than 60% of Portuguese only manage to save less than 10% of their net salary and 38% save not even 5% of what they receive, according to the ‘Consumer Sentiment Survey 2024’ study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), released on Thursday.
Announced by the consultancy firm on World Savings Day, these figures on the savings habits of the Portuguese represent a slight recovery from the 66% and 41%, respectively, recorded in 2023.
The study - carried out annually to gauge consumption, spending and savings habits in Portugal - also concludes that two out of every 10 Portuguese (20%) save between 10% and 20% of their net salary, an increase of four percentage points on last year, while 9% set aside 20% to 30% and, as in 2023, only 5% manage to save more than 40% of what they earn.
When they do manage to save, 63% of the Portuguese use this fraction of their income to respond to potential unforeseen events, 39% to accumulate for retirement and 33% to travel, with the latter two categories increasing by three percentage points compared to 2023.
Buying a house is a priority for the allocation of savings for 22% of respondents, up two percentage points on last year, followed by buying a car (13%) and spending on other consumer goods (10%), percentages that remain unchanged from the previous edition of the study.
Quoted in a statement, the managing director and partner at BCG Lisboa notes that "the majority of Portuguese are still unable to save, spending most of what they earn on basic necessities and allocating the capital they manage to amass to low-risk investments".
"In this context, companies must try to differentiate their offer, optimising their pricing and discount strategy and improving their 'modus operandi' in the promotion and distribution of products, as well as the physical and digital channels where they are present, in order to be more attractive to consumers," says Tiago Kullberg.
"At the same time, there's an urgent need to invest in financial literacy at a national level as an instrument for having better informed and empowered citizens," he adds.
With regard to consumption habits, BCG reports some changes compared to last year, with 58% of the Portuguese revealing an increase in spending on food, 36% on pharmacy and health, 35% on personal vehicles, 34% on rent and 36% on restaurants.
According to the consultancy, "the increase in spending on basic necessities led to a sharp drop in spending in other categories", namely entertainment away from home (-34%), clothing and accessories (-34%), travel and holidays (-31%), perfumery and make-up (-22%) and alcoholic drinks (-21%).
And, it notes, "although most of the variations in spending affected all age groups, the increase in spending on pharmacy and health was mainly felt by senior citizens (57%), while younger people and adults were the ones who most felt an increase in their rent bills (37%)".
The study also shows that the Portuguese "continue to have a fairly conservative investment profile, preferring to allocate their savings to low-risk products".
The study details that young adults mainly use current accounts (38%) and term deposits (36%), but are still the age group that invests the most in shares and bonds, allocating around 18% of their resources to this asset class. On the other hand, they allocate less than 10% of their resources to pension funds and non-financial assets.
Among middle-aged Portuguese, current and term deposits stand out, with 36% and 37% of the total, respectively, while shares and bonds lose relevance (14%), as do non-financial assets (3%), with pension funds gaining importance (9%).
As for the over 65s, most of their resources (84%) are invested in term and current deposits, with pension funds (7%), shares and bonds (6%) and non-financial assets (4%) being the least attractive investment applications.
Comparing men with women, BCG notes that the former (18%) are more likely to invest in shares and bonds (18% against 10%), revealing "a significant asymmetry in terms of risk profiles".
The ‘Consumer Sentiment Survey 2024’ is based on an inquiry of 1,000 Portuguese people throughout mainland Portugal, conducted between 6 and 20 August 2024, based on 38 questions related to the respondents' feelings about their consumption habits this year.
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