According to a survey conducted by the Századvég Economic Trends Research Institute, 87 per cent of domestic consumers prefer Hungarian products, which is encouraging news for Hungarian businesses. The survey findings were shared on Wednesday.
It was revealed that among Hungarian consumers, the preference for domestic products is significantly higher when it comes to purchasing food items compared to other product categories. Approximately 70 per cent of respondents considered it important to choose Hungarian products when buying food, while this figure was around 39 per cent for books and around 28–30 per cent for furniture, cosmetics, and clothing. The preference for Hungarian products when purchasing food is likely related to factors such as freshness, quality, and the support of the local economy, whereas in other categories, products typically have longer lifecycles and supply chains, as stated in the press release. According to the information provided,
half of the consumers find it important for the product to have Hungarian origins or ingredients,
but only one in ten consumers considers it important for the brand or retailer to be Hungarian.
The survey also revealed that more than three-quarters of consumers would be willing to purchase more Hungarian furniture, cosmetics, and clothing if they were available. However, the majority would not be willing to pay more for them compared to similar products from foreign brands.
The researchers also examined the situation among those consumers for whom the domestic origin of a product is not important for a particular product category. The survey found that among those who purchase furniture and home decor items, a significant proportion (34 per cent) cited low prices as the most important factor. Many consumers believe that foreign products have better quality (28 per cent), look better (13 per cent), and are more practical (12 per cent). It is noteworthy that 35 per cent of consumers do not pay attention to the country of origin when choosing a product. Similarly, among those who purchase cosmetics and beauty products and do not consider it important to buy Hungarian products, a significant proportion (31 per cent) do not pay attention to the country of origin at all. Meanwhile, a third of consumers believe that foreign products have better quality, and a quarter choose the cheapest product regardless of its origin.
In the clothing category, 26 per cent of consumers who do not consider it important to buy Hungarian products do not look at the country of origin at all. They primarily value lower prices (34 per cent) and better quality (31 per cent). However, fewer consumers mention that foreign clothing products are ‘trendier’ (16 per cent) or look better (10 per cent), and only a negligible percentage believe that foreign clothing products are more interesting, practical, or environmentally friendly.
Encouragingly, approximately one-fifth of respondents believe that Hungarian brands can play an outstandingly innovative or trendsetting role in the furniture, home decor (20 per cent), cosmetics, beauty (19 per cent), and fashion, textile products (18 per cent) sectors. In all three categories,
a significant amount of respondents believe that Hungarian brands keep up with trends,
as reported by the Századvég Economic Trends Research Institute.
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Sources: Hungarian Conservative/Századvég Foundation
