Hungarian Consumers Open to Sustainability, Innovation

Hungarian consumers attach importance to sustainability and are even more open to technological innovations than people in other European countries, according to research by GWI, a global consumer behavior research company, presented at an event organized by the Publicis Groupe in Budapest on Wednesday.

The London-based audience research company GWI surveyed the habits of internet users and found that while on average 43% expect companies to be environmentally conscious in Europe, 48% expect companies to be environmentally conscious in Hungary, the strategic director of the media business unit of Publicis Groupe Hungary, Helga Major said.

She stressed that during the pandemic, environmental protection dropped slightly in the ranking of consumer concerns, but was not relegated to the background. At the same time, everyday difficulties have increased price sensitivity, which is why product comparison sites in Hungary are more visited than in other countries and higher income groups are paying more attention to what costs what.    

The survey also shows, among other things, that while traditional shops still dominate 60% of domestic shopping, online shopping is now leading the way in Europe with 51%. At the same time, Hungarians are making greater use of new technologies, with a 49% share of Generation Z (those born at the turn of the millennium and in the decade after) using a bridge blocker, compared with 38% of the European average for this age group.

17% of Hungarians have a crypto currency, 39% use robotic technology and 46% use an artificial intelligence-based device, all of which are several percentage points higher than the continental average, she added.    

There is also a dichotomy in media consumption habits, with traditional media still far outweighing online channels and streaming. Television viewing stands at 59% among young people and 72% among the total population. “But social media is used by an even higher proportion of consumers, 93%, compared to 65% in the EU. In Hungary, Facebook is the most popular with 55%, Instagram 33% and TikTok 24% of daily visitors," the strategy director said.    

According to the information, GWI studies consumer habits in 52 countries, and this is the first time that a survey has been conducted in Hungary. Their online questionnaire surveyed internet users aged between 16 and 64 in the first quarter of 2023, i.e. almost 6.3 million consumers. The questions are based on a common methodology used by GWI and their sample is representative of the internet-using population.