An overwhelming majority (87%) of Hungarian consumers think that it is fundamentally positive when a product is Hungarian: they prefer Hungarian goods, and this is encouraging news for Hungarian businesses. Detailed data in the October 2023 survey by Századvég Konjunktúrakutató show that Hungarian consumers have a significantly higher preference for domestic products when buying food than when buying other products.

For food, nearly 70% of respondents thought it was important to choose Hungarian products, compared to a significantly lower 39% for books and 28-30% for furniture, cosmetics and clothing. When it comes to buying food, the preference for domestic products is likely to be linked to the promotion of freshness, quality and support for the local economy, while in other categories products tend to have a longer life cycle and supply chain. For half of consumers, it is important that the origin and raw material of the product is Hungarian, but only one in ten consumers think it is important that the brand or trader of the product is Hungarian. More than

three quarters of consumers would like to buy more Hungarian furniture, cosmetics and clothing if they were available.

However, the majority would not pay more for them than for a similar product from a foreign brand.

We also considered it worthwhile to examine the situation among those for whom domestic origin is not important for a given product group.

For a significant proportion of those who buy furniture and interior design products and do not prioritise Hungarian products, low price was the most important factor (34%), but many shoppers think that foreign products are better quality (28%), better looking (13%) and more practical (12%). It is noteworthy that 35% of consumers do not even pay attention to the country of origin when choosing a product.

Among those who buy cosmetics and beauty products and do not consider it important that the product is Hungarian, the proportion of those who do not pay attention to the country of origin is also quite significant, at 31%, while a third of buyers think that foreign products are of better quality and a quarter of them choose the cheapest product, regardless of the country of origin. Interestingly, very few of these consumers, only 8%, think that foreign products are more fashionable, environmentally friendly or practical.

Among those who buy clothing products and do not consider it important to buy a Hungarian product, 26% do not look at the country of origin at all. 34% think that cheaper prices, and 31% think that better quality is important. However, fewer of them said that foreign products were “cooler” (16%) or better looking (10%), and there is a negligible proportion who think that foreign clothing products are more interesting, more practical or more environmentally friendly.

Encouragingly, around a fifth of respondents believe that

Hungarian brands are capable of playing a highly innovative or trend-setting role

in furniture and home furnishings (20%), cosmetics and beauty (19%), and fashion and textiles (18%). In all three categories, a significant proportion of respondents believe that Hungarian brands are keeping up with the trends (furniture and interior design: 48%, cosmetics: 43%, fashion: 52%).

The survey was part of a comprehensive industry survey on the state of the creative economy in Hungary.

• Methodology

In October 2023, Századvég Konjunktúrakutató conducted a public opinion survey for adult Hungarians, during which 1,000 randomly selected adults were interviewed using the CATI method.