One in 10 pretend the crisis isn't happening and 23 per cent are still spending up. Photo / Greg Bowker
Ever been called an ostrich with your head in the sand? You're not alone - a new survey shows one in 10 New Zealanders is in denial about the economic downturn.
A survey of 500 New Zealanders by advertising agency M&C Saatchi found we had a sunnier view
of the economy than people in Australia and Britain. Only 25 per cent of us felt pessimistic about the economy, compared with 36 per cent of Australians and 64 per cent of Britons.
The survey found people fell into eight categories. Our shopping habits were used to give us labels ranging from head-in-the-sand "ostriches" to "vultures" out to make a quick buck.
The biggest group - 23 per cent - were aware of the crisis but liked to keep spending if they could find an excuse. A freebie, a limited offer or a chance to buy the latest model was enough to convince these so-called "justifiers" it was okay to buy.
The second biggest group, dubbed "scrimpers", were more careful. They were buying the same types of things as usual, but had traded down to cheaper brands to spend less overall.
Other popular shopping types included "crash dieters" - who had reacted dramatically to the crisis by halting purchases of non-essentials - and "treaters", who bought some cheaper goods but then rewarded themselves with wine or chocolate.
M&C Saatchi's New Zealand chief executive, Nick Bayliss, said New Zealand had the biggest proportions of justifiers and scrimpers out of the three countries. The study surveyed 500 Australians and 1000 British shoppers, as well as New Zealanders.
Australia had the biggest proportion of ostriches, with 17 per cent. "They are very confident, they are very cocky ... That does reflect a bit of [Australian] culture," said Mr Bayliss.
As for why New Zealanders had such a rosy view of the world crisis, Mr Bayliss said there were two theories. The first was that we felt removed from what was going on overseas. The second was that Kiwis were naturally pessimistic, so the current crisis didn't seem too bad.
