Investors have a chance of a glimpse at what Russian’s really think about life and money in their country with two new research projects.
Russia’s quickly growing economy is bringing opportunity but also concerns for its population, according to the Ivanov index.
The survey, which questions 2,300 people in 164 Russian cities which have a population of more than 100,000 people, found that the average family is worried about high inflation, which is currently running at 7%.
The cost of living is a concern for 70% of Russian households who spend, on average, around 40% of their income on food.
In comparison, those in Western Europe spend between 15% and 20% of their income on food.
Car making gets in gear
However more than 40% of those who responded to the survey expressed an ambition to replace their car within the next two years.
That must be good news to the car making firms who have invested heavily in Russia with vehicle sales leaping more than 10% last year, according to the Association of European Business.
Russia currently has a low level of car ownership, relative to other countries, and many of the vehicles currently on the roads are nearing the end of their lives and need replacing.
This situation has led to car industry experts predicting that Russia will overtake Germany as Europe’s largest car maker in the next few years.
The Ivanov survey also found that most Russians are upbeat about the prospects for improving their personal wealth in 2013, and with the country seeing home ownership of 92% there are good prospects for the property market to around half of those people said there were planning to upgrade to a newer flat.
With more investors increasingly interested in Russia and its prospects for profits the market for researchers is looking lucrative.
Myths about Russia
Now a new Moscow-based team is looking to crowd-funding to help start a project via the Kickstarter website.
It’s called People’s Omnibus and will give researchers access to 600 Russians to carry out market research.
Project leader Igor Sokolov said there were opportunities for small research companies and others with a curiosity in Russian lives to carry out small scale market research projects.
The new scheme will be much cheaper than other research firms and, the organisers hope, will help to dispel some of the myths about Russians and their country.
Researchers will be able to ask any question and not just those related to corporate activity.