Georgians in 2020: Dedicated and Friends-oriented Team Players
Communications company Noblet Media CIS, Edelman affiliate, in partnership with Info Sapiens research agency, presented the survey on lifestyle and financial views of the middle and upper-middle-class in the countries where the companies operate.
Noblet Media CIS, in cooperation with the current Info Sapiens team, conducted such surveys in 2009-2013 and decided that it’s high time to update the data.
The beginning of 2020 obviously adjusted everyday lives all over the world, forced to slow down and become more flexible. Nevertheless, did it actually change the values, global goals, and dreams of the consumers? Did they become more united or learn some responsibility? This survey conducted in April 2020 reflects the portrait of the most active consumers, setting the tone for economic life in the six countries.
‘We have been providing communication services on these 6 markets for many years, tracking the impact of both global and local challenges on the consumers’ behavior, – Zhenya Pankratieva, CEO, Noblet Media CIS noted. – Certainly, reality has significantly changed for the last 5 years. In 2020, many factors, including the pandemic, put a question mark over all the communication means and channels. The outcomes of this survey help companies to better feel the moods of their consumers and to choose the right strategy for each market’.
The survey was divided into several blocks. Here are the key findings on the Georgian and other five markets:
- Personal goals and career opportunities. Much like the citizens of the other five countries, Georgians most often are oriented on improving economic well-being (71%). More Georgian citizens think of achieving personal popularity and high status (34%) rather than certain changes in their community or society (13%). Compared to other countries, Georgians as well as Azerbaijani are more flexible: 6% and 10% appropriately are ready to change their area of activity for the next 10 years. 23% of Georgians would like to use this flexibility while working as a part of a global private company, 18% - in the non-governmental sector at the local level and only 13% would like to start their own business. Worth mentioning that percentage among Georgians, willing to work in the public sector (15%), is the highest among all 6 countries. Key similarity with all the countries except Ukraine lies in enjoying free time: most Georgians tend to spend time with friends as much as possible while Ukrainians would prefer to start a family and have children.
- Personal budget and expenses. Georgians tend to spend money almost equally on their appearance (including clothes, footwear and personal care) (32%) and meetings with friends and entertainment (31%). Georgia is one of the countries whose citizens prefer not to keep cash at home, but to invest money in starting or developing their own business (37%) or in buying real estate (33%) and it obviously helps the country’s economy to thrive afterward. Besides, Georgians prefer to open a bank deposit in dollars (24%) rather than GEL (5%).
- Coronavirus. All the citizens have recently faced the difficulties related to the pandemic. Businesses, governments, and international organizations joined forces in order to take the immediate action against the virus and provide the nations with truthful information. In Georgia, doctors from other countries (72%) and WHO (71%) are the primary sources of information about COVID-19. Answering which sources of information about COVID-19 do they trust most, Georgians almost equally indicated doctors from other countries (26%), acquaintances and colleagues (26%), healthcare authorities (25%) and family (25%) while WHO is a dominant trustful source of information (34%).
The hallmark of Georgians includes their team spirit: they have a desire to be associated with some groups or ideas, to share common views. Only 11% of Georgians can publish their opinion on the economic and social topics online freely, while half of the citizens are disposed to the discussions of the future of the country with their family and friends privately. It’s fair to notice that despite the friends-oriented nature, the family is the one having the greatest impact on the opinion of 58% of the Georgian citizens. Georgians are ready to take a stand on subjects which are reflecting their own values, that’s why the companies have to consider Georgian employees as effective team players but also to provide them with the details of companies’ vision and mission in order to engage people in the corporate life as much as possible. Businesses need to take into account the friends-oriented approach of getting news for Georgians and therefore to use social media as a primary source of information.
Anna Shevchenko, Regional Director, Noblet Media CIS comments: ‘The study shows that vast majority of Georgians with middle or upper-middle income aim at improving their economic well-being during the next 10 years, much like citizens of other 5 countries. At the same time, achieving a high status in society, feeling team spirit, and spending time with friends shape the outstanding features of a portrait of a Georgian consumer. That probably proves once again that the current pandemic crisis couldn’t beat a hundred years of traditions and values of the population’.
About methodology of the survey
The survey presents data on social, financial, and economic views, behavior, lifestyle, and media usage of the middle and upper-middle-class in 6 countries – Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Uzbekistan. 200 face-to-face interviews with urban citizens aged 18-45 were held in each country in April 2020. According to the survey, middle and upper-middle-class representatives constitute between 50-60% among the urban citizens of the target age, being the group making the most important decisions about large purchases and investments. Full data from the survey is available on the website.