Belgians have embarked on a massive saving spree. They are reducing their energy consumption, along with their purchases and daily expenses, which also has an impact on the economy. According to a recent analysis, Belgium will have negative economic growth in 2023.

Belgians are increasingly bent on finding ways to save in order to cope with the rising costs of living, according to a recent international survey by ING, which was conducted in early November in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Poland, Turkey and Spain. The survey shows that

almost six out of ten Belgians are skimping on produce, and most on clothing as well.

Incidentally, Belgians’ willingness to save is only slightly higher than that of Germans across most product categories. Whereas 58 per cent of Belgium’s residents are already saving on daily expenses, this ratio in Germany is „only” 50 per cent. The research highlights that around half of Belgians are cutting back on their spending on hospitality, travel and leisure activities.

Compared to the results of the same survey published in March 2022, the number of households cutting back on their consumption has risen sharply, and many households plan to further reduce their spending in the coming months. While this percentage was only 44 per cent in March, now 57 per cent of Belgians claim that they are already saving on daily expenses, and 60 per cent plan to do so in the next six months.

The fact that households are extreme cautious is obviously due to the energy crisis. Four out of ten Belgians said that they saw their energy bills more than doubling in the last six months, while every tenth said their energy bills rose five fold, the ING survey found. In this context, the number of households taking measures to save energy and trying to reduce the impact of the price hikes has risen sharply, from 77 per cent in March to 86 per cent today. More than six out of ten Belgians say they are cutting back on heating, while four out of ten respondents say they are more economical with the use of electrical appliances, such as dishwashers.

As reported by V4NA, survey findings in October already indicated that Belgians were beginning to curtail their power consumption. Electricity consumption in Belgium was almost 10 per cent down and gas use was 28 per cent lower in October, compared to the average level measured in the past five years.

ING’s latest study also reveals that during the pandemic, Belgians appeared to be very active online shoppers. However, the unusually sharp growth in online volumes witnessed during the pandemic seems to be normalising somewhat. Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents say they have been buying online less often since the end of the pandemic, compared to only 15 per cent, who say they are buying online more frequently. When asked whether they expect to spend more online during the holidays than last year, one out of four Belgians (25%) said they would spend less.

The fact that many Belgians are looking to save money to cope with the rising cost of living which will have an impact on Belgium’s economic growth. Belgium’s economy has already contracted slightly (-0.1%) in the third quarter, and the contraction is expected to continue in the coming quarters. ING expects the country to have negative economic growth in 2023.