The consumer
- Consumer Profile
-
Portugal has a population of 10.24 million people, with a negative growth rate of 0.2% in 2022 (CIA). The median age among the Portuguese population is 46.9 years (Data Reportal, 2022), with 13% of the population under the age of 15, 64% between 15-64 and 23% over 65 (World Bank, 2021). As of 2022, life expectancy is 81.5 years of age. About 67.4% of the population is urban, with the majority of people concentrated around the area of Lisbon (almost 3 million people) and Porto (1.3 million people) (CIA, 2022).
Nationally, the average household size is 2.5 people per household - compared to 3.3 people thirty years ago (Eurostat). Currently, 27.5% of households consist of only one person, 49.2% have two of three people, 19.3% have four or five and only 3.9% have six members or more. Of all households, 22.3% consist of a couple with children, 23.9% of a couple alone, and 4.7% of a single parent with children (Eurostat, 2020). The proportion of adults with upper secondary and tertiary attainment has been growing steadily in Portugal for the last two decades. About 55% of adults aged 25-64 have completed upper secondary education, lower than the OECD average of 79%, and around 28.2% have attained a tertiary education degree, lower than the the OECD average of 38.6% (OECD, 2021). Currently, 100% of children aged between 5 and 14 are enrolled in school. Surplus occupations include the following skilled professionals: mining professionals, workers in textile, clothing and leather industries construction workers and similar; blacksmiths, toolmakers and related trades workers; and keyboard operators. On the other hand, the ageing of the Portuguese population, which implies a greater need for healthcare services, drives the growing demand for health professionals. - Purchasing Power
- GDP per capita increased in 2021, reaching USD 35,888.2 PPP (World Bank). The average monthly salary in Portugal is EUR 1,250.75, and the country's minimum wage of EUR 823 is the lowest in Western Europe. Consumer spending decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic, and in the context of the war in Ukraine and rising inflation, purchasing power has been decreasing. In 2020, purchasing power in Portugal stood at 76.4% of the EU average, with the country occupying the 16th place among countries in the EU, according to the the National Statistics Institute. Portugal is one of the most unequal countries in the EU, with 20% of its wealthiest citizens earning an income that is 5.7 times higher than 20% of its poorest. Inequality has been increasing, as has the country's Gini Index, which is currently 33 (INE). Furthermore, the wage gap between men and women in Portugal is 11.7%, which is the similar to the OECD average. Lisbon is the city with the highest wages in Portugal, followed by Porto and Funchal.
- Consumer Behaviour
-
Recent developments in the social, economic and technological context have had a high impact on the consumption habits of the Portuguese, and today there is a greater concern with the management of the family budget, as well as a concern with the environmental aspect of products, such as sustainability and the origin of the products they consume. The Portuguese are becoming more concerned about their personal comfort and well-being, especially the younger generations. A trend among the Portuguese youth is to buy natural, organic, locally grown foods. According to Deloitte, 45% of Portuguese claim to be willing to pay more for products and services provided by companies committed to having a positive social and environmental impact. On average, Portuguese consumers tend not to be impulsive buyers, especially after years of recession. Portuguese consumers tend to be loyal to clothing brands, but they are usually not loyal to food brands, as they tend to buy whatever is cheapest. Additionally, consumers prefer foreign products - with the exception of food. Nevertheless, in recent years there have been public awareness campaigns focused on encouraging people to buy domestic products. The Portuguese consumer has currently been described as "addicted to deals", as purchases of products on sale account for nearly half of all the purchases made in the country every year. Good prices and sales are the factors that most influence purchasing decisions and are what attract the Portuguese consumer. A typical Portuguese consumer values convenience and proximity in retail, favouring hypermarkets and being open to abundant promotions throughout the country. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the rising inflation resulting from the war in Ukraine, the average consumer has decreased spending. Nowadays, consumers are becoming more connected and demanding, making consumption less impulsive and more thoughtful. Consumers are more price sensitive and have adopted more contained, conscious, responsible and sustainable consumer practises. Planning, rational choice, and the effort to reduce impulse buying are evidenced by the growing weight of sales. Consumers also value the interaction and experience when making a purchase. Even though e-commerce has been growing in the country, in-store purchases are still preferred among Portugal's ageing population, with on-line shopping being favoured by those under 30. According to Hipersuper, 60.9% of Portuguese consumers shopped online in 2022. According to a survey held by Eurostat, the Portuguese are the ones using collaborative platforms such as Uber and Airbnb least amongst Europe. On average, only 6% of the Portuguese booked their accommodations online, compared to 17% of their other European counterparts. The same goes for online reservations of transportation services: the member States average is 8%, while in Portugal it is 2%.
- Consumer Recourse to Credit
-
Consumers are becoming more optimistic about the Portuguese economic future, which has been reflected by growing levels of spending. Consumers are also more willing to borrow in order to pay for purchases, especially when it comes to expensive items, such as cars and houses. With the improvement of confidence levels that made consumers more prone to making purchasing decisions supported by the use of loans, credit concession recorded the highest levels in a decade, in 2018, as the improvement of the economic prospects among Portuguese households has made them more confident towards assuming financial commitments with banks (consumer credit also experienced a decline in non-performing loans). Nevertheless, while outstanding balance on consumer credit recorded higher current value growth in 2019 compared to the previous year, gross lending experienced a notable slowdown. The situation worsened in 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic: according to figures from the Bank of Portugal, new consumer credit decreased 64% in April compared with the same period of the previous year, to EUR 203 million (whereas as of 2018, an average of EUR 20 million of consumer credit was requested in Portugal every day).
Use of electronic payment instruments has certainly been growing since they replaced the older means of payments, namely the cheque, which had a strong usage in Portugal in the past. Recently, the public administration gave a significant boost to electronic means of payment in particular when pensions began to be paid with credit transfers rather than cheques. Contactless card payments are not that popular yet, but their utilisation is now growing every day, and they are becoming as common as they are in the rest of Europe. As at 31 December 2019, there were 24.6 million active payment cards in Portugal (+4.2% y-o-y), with the number of debit cards growing by 5.8% and credit cards reversing the trend with a decreased of 1.6% (Bank of Portugal). - Growing Sectors
- Aeronautical industry, construction, mining, cultural and creative industries, textiles, agriculture, biotechnology, healthcare, ICT, infrastructure, water and energy, maritime industry, fishing, and tourism.
- Consumers Associations
-
DECO , Portuguese Association for the Defence of the Consumer
Portal do Consumidor , General Consumption Direction
