Despite their disadvantaged situations, low-income consumers in the world’s emerging markets have much in common with their middle-class brethren, according to a study by Synovate.

Synovate surveyed over 8,000 consumers in 14 countries around the world, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, to gain a better understanding of their attitudes, values and purchasing habits. The countries surveyed were: Argentina , Brazil , China , Egypt , Hungary , India , Indonesia , Mexico , Poland , Romania , Russia,South Africa , Thailand and Turkey .

“Low-income consumers want many of the same things out of life and their products as their middle-income counterparts, but are constrained by their relatively limited purchasing power,” said Mike Sherman, Synovate executive director consumer insights, in a company press release. “This suggests that as their income grows - which is projected to happen in many of these markets - the lower-income consumers will display the same kind of spending habits as the middle class,” he said.

Health, family and physical security are the top three most-important things in life for more than 80 percent of low- and middle-income consumers, followed by a good home, an education and a good income. (For the purposes of this analysis, Synovate defined low-income consumers as those at the bottom income quartile of the population and middle-income consumers as those in the second and third quartiles.)

When asked how they would use the extra money if given a 20 percent increase in income, 38 percent of low-income consumers would spend their extra income, 47 percent would save or invest it and 15 percent would pay off debt. Similarly, 34 percent of middle-income consumers would spend it, 56 percent would save or invest it and 10 percent would pay off debt.

Prefer local brands

The different income classes share similar brand perceptions. If price and quality are equal, just under two-thirds of low-income consumers prefer local brands; one-third believe local brands are as good as international brands; and 31 percent agree that most people don’t know the difference between local and international brands - responses which all mirror those of middle-income consumers.

A host of factors loom large as influences on the product choices of low-income consumers. Limited transportation options force many of them to shop locally, giving neighborhood merchants a lot of sway over purchasing habits, both via the products they stock and the products they recommend. In communities where literacy rates are often quite low, these firsthand recommendations and other word-of-mouth-based tips play an important role in product awareness and trial. And while some of these low-income consumers may not be able to read, they are frequent television viewers, so a product’s visual identity and its ability to communicate using graphics are key.

Crucial messages

Sherman said the research held some crucial messages for marketers, advertisers and any company wanting to target the lower-income consumer in these countries. “The low-income market is large, and while not rich, these consumers are savvy, discerning and in need of affordable solutions that still deliver the core benefit they are looking for, as well as the quality,” he said. “This may mean the same product in smaller, more affordable packaging, a scaled-down version of a product or a product with simplified, less expensive design.

“Marketers also need to understand that the competition they face in such a market is not just from other brands within a product line but from other product categories altogether, as due to budget restrictions, low-income consumers face choices between two entirely different types of products, rather than choices between brands.

“It’s worth noting that this finding does not apply in the same way in developed markets. Synovate also surveyed the U.S. , U.K. and Japan for the purposes of comparison and found that, in these markets, low-income consumers have very different priorities and attitudes to their middle-class counterparts,” Sherman said.