UAE BARQ برق الإمارات – نبضك
More than 1,000 UAE residents took part in the survey, which asks a range of questions on the state of UAE residents’ finances and their attitudes towards work.
Nearly 58 percent of UAE residents are saving less money than were a year ago, according to the Yallacompare Consumer Confidence Tracker for the second quarter of 2019.
That represents a sizeable increase on the previous quarter, when 53.6 percent of respondents said the same thing and is the highest figure since Q3 2018.
More than 1,000 UAE residents took part in the survey, which asks a range of questions on the state of UAE residents’ finances and their attitudes towards work.
It showed that the proportion of respondents saying they don’t save regularly has increased, from 26.9 percent in Q1 to 29.4 percent three months later. This represents the highest proportion of non savers since the tracker began at the start of 2018.
Those who traditionally save smaller amounts are also shown to be saving less. While 50.6 percent of respondents said they were saving AED999 or less in the Q1 survey, 47.7 percent said they were managing the same amount in Q2.
In contrast, the proportion saving between AED1,000 and AED1,999 per month increased from 14.1 percent in Q1 to 14.7 percent in Q2, as did the amount saving between AED2,000 and AED2,999 from 4.6 percent in Q1 to 5.2 percent in Q2.
The proportion saving more than AED5,000 per month also went up slightly, from 1.2 percent in Q1 to 1.3 percent in Q2.
“It’s noteworthy that the amount who traditionally save smaller amounts of money has decreased, while those regularly saving more has actually increased,” said Jonathan Rawling, CFO, Yallacompare. “It suggests that some of us are struggling to save at all, while others – around a fifth, according to the tracker – have been able to put aside higher amounts of money.”
Despite the mixed outlook for savings, it appears respondents are still able to remit money with just 4.8 percent saying they don’t regularly send money home, down from 5.1 percent in Q1.
There were also increases in those sending between AED500 and AED999 – 28.7 percent in Q2 versus 27.1 percent in Q1 – and those sending between AED2,000 and AED4,999 – 16.3 percent in Q2 versus 15 percent in Q1.
There was a decrease, however, in those remitting between AED1,000 and AED1,999 – 35.7 percent of respondents in Q2 versus 37.3 percent in Q1.
Tracker data also showed a slight uptick in those planning to make a big purchase, such as a car or house, in the next 12 months, up to 21.9 percent in Q2.
Yallacompare said that behind these figures is a general decline in overall consumer confidence. While 19.9 percent of respondents felt more confident about their finances in Q2 than they did 12 months ago, 21 percent felt the same way in Q1.
The proportion of respondents feeling less confident about their finances increased to 42.7 percent in Q2 compared with 38.3 percent in Q1.
Arabian Business
