Many Kenyans have adopted various creative ways of dealing with the ever-climbing prices of goods and services.
Among the steps are boarding matatus away from the usual bus stops, walking a little more distance to use only one vehicle, staying at home and travelling at odd hours to avoid high fares that have come as a result of high fuel prices.
Following the increase in fuel prices by about 63 percent over the past year, most consumers have also cut on other household expenditures, stopped using cabs or are leaving cars, reveals a consumer study by pan-African marketing research and strategy firm, Pierrine.
The Consumer Pulse Study in Kenya notes that while the increase in cost of living, mainly on food and fuel prices has left many consumers spending more on local travel, consumers are also “exploring cheaper transportation options, reducing household expenditures and spending more time at home.”
About 81 percent of consumers surveyed indicated they explored cheaper means of transport, 31 percent of them said they reduced household expenses, while 27 percent indicated they stayed at home.
“In response to the increased fuel prices, Kenyan consumers are exploring more affordable transportation options, reducing household expenditures and spending more time at home,” the study says.
Carpooling...
Pierrine CEO Oluwaseyi Adeoye said during release of the study that among strategies Kenyans have explored to reduce travel costs include “taking public transport away from bus stop to get cheaper fares, walking to the grocery stores instead of driving, walking a little more distance, stopping use of hailing cabs, staying at home more and carpooling to travel with other colleagues.”
Mr Adeoye added that some Kenyans said they leave work late after fares have dropped, splitting the journey to save more instead of taking one straight bus and sharing bus seats with someone else, known as lapping.
While these strategies have only been adopted in respect to costs inflicted by high fuel prices, the study shows that Kenyans are also avoiding debts, creating budgets to operate within and tracking their spending as they juggle between high prices and reducing purchasing power.
Debt avoidance
“In order to better manage their finances, consumers are employing financial strategies such as debt avoidance, budgeting, investing and setting financial goals,” the study says.
At least 52 percent of Kenyans interviewed indicated they were avoiding debts, 46 percent said they had had to create budgets, while some 22 percent started saving for a rainy day.
The study also established that more older people have suffered financial struggles compared to any other age group as commodity prices, mainly fuel and food, keep rising.
People aged above 35 years recorded the highest rate of those indicating that their financial well-being has gotten worse over the past six months, even more than the 18-24 years age group.
Among people indicating that their financial difficulties have increased, those aged above 35 led with 61 percent of them noting life has gotten worse, against 45 percent of youth aged 18 to 24, and 43 percent of youth aged between 25 and 34.
“About half of Kenyans opined that their household financial situation got worse over the last six months, reflecting the impact of current headwinds on consumers,” Pierrine notes in the Consumer Pulse Study in Kenya.
The study also shows that more women (56 percent) than men (41 percent) indicated that their financial well-being had worsened over the past six months.
“Kenyans cited rising high cost of living, prevailing corruption amongst the leadership and mounting pressure on their available disposable income, as reasons for being worse off compared to six months ago,” the study notes.
But as 49 percent of Kenyans feel the economic heat, a modest 27 percent say things are better, with their businesses booming, side hustles working out and they are landing new jobs.
Overall, 51 percent of Kenyans indicated that they are happy with their current life and the remaining 49 percent were unhappy.
The happy people cited good health, having family and friends by them, and the opportunity to make money. The unhappy Kenyans on the other hand blame poor leadership and the high cost of living.
