The consumer
- Consumer Profile
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Despite being a country rich in natural resources, the political and economic situation has been deteriorating dramatically in recent years.
Since early 2014, public frustration has been steadily rising over shortages of basic consumer goods and skyrocketing inflation. The country’s GDP is expected to contract 10% in 2021, after shrinking an estimated 30% in 2020 (IMF). The increase in poverty, food shortages, inflation, and insecurity was undeniable, to the point of surpassing all the previous forecasts. Inflation is out of control: it worsened in 2020 reaching 6,500% (IMF).
According to the results of a Survey on Living Conditions (ENCOVI) carried out by the main universities of the country, starving Venezuelans lost on average more than 11 kilos during 2017. In 2020, 94% of respondents said that family income is not sufficient to cover the cost of living and 80% said that they received food assistance. According to the same survey, 96% of Venezuelan households are now living in poverty (2020). It also notes that extreme poverty was 13% lower in 2018.
The report on the global state of food security and nutrition of FAO detailed that Venezuelans are experiencing the highest rate of malnutrition in recent years. - Consumer Behaviour
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Venezuelans are experiencing a dramatic economic and social crisis, with a shortage of basic products and hyperinflation. The informal market has now become predominant, and the Survey on Living Conditions estimated that the informal economy absorbs 45% of employment (Encovi 2019-2020).
Due to the situation, many foreign companies decided to cease operations in Venezuela, while the devaluation of the national currency made it practically impossible to import goods from abroad. In turn, stores’ shelves are getting more and more counterfeited products, mainly of Chinese origin.
The crisis in Venezuela has also degraded society to the point of becoming the most violent country in Latin America, with a homicide rate of 60.3 per 100,000 inhabitants (the highest in the world) in 2020 according to the NGO Observatorio Venezolano de la Violencia (OVV).
Due to the abovementioned factors, shopping habits have changed, focusing nowadays mostly on day-to-day grocery shopping. - Consumers Associations
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Consumid.org (Consumers' Portal)
Defiendete (Federation of Consumer Associations)
National Consumer Alliance