Myanmar consumers under Covid-19 restrictions: digital services see increase in demand, nationwide survey finds

Myanmar consumers under Covid-19 restrictions: digital services see increase in demand, nationwide survey finds

08.06.2020
Reports

30 % of those with a low educational background say that they have heard about COVID-19 but don’t know much about the disease. Considering that lock downs and restrictions are gradually being lifted, efforts are necessary to continously educate and remind the population about preventive measures and hygiene prescriptions to prevent transmissions. The lockdown had a negative impact on the finances of the majority of households. The data shows that the economic situation has become more difficult for 60% of the respondents and over 30% indicated that they have reduced their expenses in order to safe money, given the uncertainty. That means only 7% have been unaffected. The reduced ability and readiness to spend seems to have impacted negatively on many sectors. Interestingly, some sectors have seen an increased turnover for example dry foods and mobile top ups. Digital services have seen an increased demand, opening up new opportunties for some. The survey further reveals different patterns of media perception between urban and rural population when evaluating the information source about COVID-19: MOHS has higher trust among the urban population, whereas in rural areas TV is first. MSR explains this difference with a lower internet usage rate in rural areas paired with a lower media literacy. Rural people tend to be more concerned about fake news as many don’t know how to fact-check the news they read on Facebook, hence they rely less on the platform as a source of information.