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- Majority of Australian consumers (84%) impacted by fuel price rises
- Most common way of coping with price rises: using vehicle less, combining trips and cutting down on non-essential living expenses
7 March 2006
Sydney
With nine in 10 Australian consumers having to maintain a vehicle, the price of fuel is of widespread concern with as many as 84 percent of Aussies claiming to have felt a hit to their hip-pockets caused by escalating petrol prices, a global study by research company ACNielsen has found.
Released today, the twice-yearly global ACNielsen Online Consumer Opinion Survey, the largest of its kind, polled over 23,000 people in 42 countries and more than 500 Australian participants on the impact of rising fuel prices.
The results of the survey revealed that as many as four in five (89%) Australian consumers have a vehicle for which they must buy fuel. When asked whether the increases in fuel prices had affected them in anyway, over half of the participants (57%) claimed that they had been affected somewhat, and 27 percent claimed to have been affected a lot.
In response to rising petrol prices, Aussie households have been compelled to adjust their driving habits, with 61 percent opting to use their vehicle less – the third highest globally behind the US and Canada, and the highest in the Asia Pacific region. Over half of Aussie fuel buying consumers (57%) are trying harder to combine trips, and 29 percent are cutting down on non-essential living expenses (refer to Chart 1).
“Not only does Australia have one of the highest percentages of car ownership in the world,” says Tina Katsinikas, Director, Automotive, ACNielsen Australia. “It’s also a country of large distances, which means that as petrol prices fluctuate, the impact on our hip pocket is much more significant than in smaller countries where average driving distances are generally shorter, and this is evident in the survey findings.”
Less than one in five (19%) Australian consumers have opted to use public transport more in order to cope with rising petrol prices – the fourth lowest in the Asia Pacific region.
A smaller proportion of consumers had taken more extreme measures in response to the petrol price shocks – eight percent of fuel buying consumers are more likely to purchase a more fuel efficient vehicle, two percent traded in their vehicle for a motorcycle/scooter or a bicycle, and one percent gave up their vehicle altogether.
“Australian consumers have clearly been impacted by rising petrol prices, to the extent that they are changing their driving habits in order to cope”, says Katsinikas. “Whilst only a small percentage of consumers have resorted to purchasing a more fuel efficient car, or trading in their car for a motorcycle or bicycle – with the global hike in oil prices likely to continue, we can expect consumer demand to further develop in this direction.”
Chart 1: What impact, if any, have higher fuel prices had on your household’s driving habits?
Base: those who own a vehicle for which they must buy fuel - Australia
Source: ACNielsen Online Consumer Confidence Survey, Nov 2005
Click here to download a complimentary copy of the results from the ACNielsen Australian Fuel Price Survey - November 2005
The ACNielsen Online Consumer Confidence Survey, the largest twice-yearly global survey of its kind, is aimed to gauge consumers’ current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and current major concerns. The most recent wave of the survey took place in November 2005 and polled over 23,500 consumers – regular Internet users – in 42 markets in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia-Pacific region, Africa (Republic of South Africa) and the Middle East (UAE).
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world’s leading marketing information company. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the company provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behaviour. Clients rely on ACNielsen’s market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns
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