19.10.2010
“Second hand” in Ukraine: the attitude of citizens to the ban and the possible consequences of such a decision
- According to the survey conducted in October 2010, the average Ukrainian household spends about 400 hryvnias per month on clothing and footwear, which is roughly one sixth of the total household budget. One in six households spends up to 100 hryvnias per month, almost one in four spends between 100 and 300 hryvnias, and nearly one in five spends between 300 and 500 hryvnias. Over a period equivalent to a calendar year, 16% of respondents purchase clothing and footwear every month, 41% buy them once or twice per season, 22% once or twice per year, and 13% less often than once a year.
- Residents of the West and the North, particularly Kyiv, are the most active clothing buyers, while people in the East and Donbas are the least active. Purchase frequency increases among younger respondents, urban residents, women, those with higher incomes, people who are employed, and those with higher levels of education. Unmarried respondents are more active buyers than married respondents, although married people are more active than divorced respondents.
- The vast majority of Ukrainians buy clothing and footwear at markets, with 84% reporting this as their main place of purchase, a pattern observed in all regions. One third shop in small stores, 14% in department stores and supermarkets, 5% in branded stores, 1% online and 1% abroad. Twenty-seven percent usually buy Ukrainian-made clothing, 22% buy Turkish products, 20% Polish, 19% Chinese, 16% from Western Europe, 11% Russian and 8% Belarusian, while 42% do not pay attention to the country of origin. Indifference to the manufacturer is most common in Donbas, the East and the South.
- Consumers in Western Ukraine are more demanding, with Polish and Western European products being more popular there. Residents of the North, especially Kyiv, are the most selective and buy from a wide range of producers. This is also the region with the highest use of Ukrainian-made clothing at 48%, which is linked to better availability, as nearly one third of respondents elsewhere cite the lack of points of sale as a reason for not buying domestic products. The main barriers to purchasing Ukrainian clothing are a poor price–quality ratio, mentioned by 45%, low quality at 37%, limited assortment at 31% and lack of alignment with fashion trends at 14%. Among those who do buy Ukrainian products, half say the main reason is a good price–quality balance, but this group represents only about 14% of all respondents. Others buy domestic products to support Ukrainian producers, for perceived quality or selection, while only 4% believe Ukrainian clothing matches fashion trends, indicating that the domestic consumer is relatively undemanding and constrained by limited incomes.
- Second-hand clothing from Europe has become a real alternative for many consumers. Two thirds of Ukrainians have a positive attitude toward the availability of second-hand clothing, while only 18% have a negative view. Support is strongest in the West, North and Center, and somewhat weaker in the South and Donbas. Women are significantly more positive toward second-hand goods than men. Fifty-seven percent of respondents have purchased second-hand clothing at least once, with 39% doing so currently, while 43% have never done so.
- Second-hand usage is highest in the West, East and Donbas, and more common in cities than in rural areas. Users are mainly women, people aged 30–39, those with vocational or higher education, and married or divorced respondents. More than half of people engaged in household work or on maternity leave use second-hand clothing, and many of them purchase such goods several times per month. Usage is strongly linked to income levels, being highest among respondents earning less than 1,000 hryvnias per month and still significant among those earning up to 2,000 hryvnias. Nearly half of those who spend less than 300 hryvnias per month on clothing are second-hand users.
- Eighty-five percent of respondents believe that banning second-hand imports would harm low-income Ukrainians. At the same time, one third of respondents with higher incomes also use second-hand clothing, indicating that this market is not limited to the poorest segments. Among former users, the main reason for earlier purchases was lack of money, whereas among current users the primary motive is access to good-quality items at affordable prices. Many also cite the opportunity to find new or branded clothing cheaply.
- Most second-hand users say they would continue buying such goods even if they could afford new clothing, while about one third would stop. Among those who have never bought second-hand items, the main reasons are health concerns, sufficient income to buy new clothes, and feelings of embarrassment or humiliation. By contrast, most current users are satisfied with the conditions under which second-hand goods are sold, particularly in the West and North.
- Sixty-two percent of respondents oppose banning the import of second-hand clothing, while 18% support such a ban. Support for a ban is lowest in Donbas and Western Ukraine. If second-hand trade were banned, most low-income users would reduce their spending on clothing, while a small share of higher-income users would increase their spending to maintain previous consumption levels. Many users would switch to cheap clothing regardless of origin or to cheap domestic products.
- Forty-two percent believe that a ban would benefit domestic producers, while 39% disagree, and 20% are undecided. At the same time, 67% think importers of cheap clothing would benefit from such a ban. Almost all respondents believe the state should support domestic clothing production, mainly through tax incentives, anti-smuggling measures and restrictions on cheap imports, while only 4% see banning second-hand imports as an effective measure. A majority believe the government can address smuggling of new clothing without banning second-hand imports.
Methodology
- Survey organization: Rating Group.
- Survey population: adult population of Ukraine aged 18 and older.
- Sample size: 2,000 respondents.
- Method: face-to-face formalized interview using a structured questionnaire.
- Sampling error: no more than 3.0% for values close to 50%, no more than 2.6% for values close to 30%, and no more than 1.8% for values close to 10%.
- Fieldwork dates: 4–11 October 2010.
- West: Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Chernivtsi.
- Center: Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy.
- North: Kyiv city, Kyiv region, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Chernihiv.
- South: Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sevastopol.
- East: Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv.
- Donbas: Donetsk, Luhansk.
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