Romir Scan Panel

The Weekly Expenditure Index is an indicator demonstrating the dynamics of the volume of consumption of consumer goods by Russian households. The Weekly Average Check Index shows the dynamics of the average value of household purchases made during the week. Both Indices are calculated for each calendar week on the basis of the ROMIR Unified Data Panel, which accumulates information on household consumption in Russian cities with a population of 100,000 inhabitants or more.

Examples of Indexes

ROMIR has developed a methodology for calculating the Free Money Index (FMI), an indicator that demonstrates the dynamics of households’ ability to consume goods and services in excess of necessary needs.

“Free money” of households in the context of this study is the money that remains with the household after purchasing necessary food products, everyday goods, paying for housing and communal services, transport and other services. These are exactly the funds that a household can spend on education, health, repairs, put aside for a large purchase (apartment, cottage, car, etc.), spend on recreation and entertainment, or simply put aside in the form of savings. It is also from this money that loans are repaid.

The “free money” index is calculated as the difference between household income and expenses for necessary goods and services. Average household incomes are determined based on ROMIR and Rosstat’s own calculations. And the costs of necessary goods and services are calculated on the basis of the ROMIR Unified Data Panel. Household income consists of regular and one-time cash receipts received by all members of households (families) from various sources:

• wages with various accruals and additional payments;
• pensions, benefits, scholarships, insurance and social payments;
• income from business activities;
• income from transactions with personal property;
• other types of income.

To calculate the “free money” Index, all household expenses were divided into two groups according to the degree of importance for ensuring the livelihoods of households: necessary (primary) and desirable (secondary). The main factor in the distribution of costs according to this criterion is the degree of freedom of the household in the distribution of expenses to satisfy certain needs and requirements. In the case of necessary (primary) expenses, households do not have freedom of choice, since this type of expense is necessary to ensure the basic functioning of the household.

Necessary (priority) costs include costs for the following types of goods and services:

• Food;
• non-food products of daily demand;
• housing and communal services;
• domestic services;
• medical services;
• passenger transport services;
• communication services;
• obligatory payments.

Secondary costs can be carried out and redistributed at the request of household members, based on their current needs. As an example of desirable (secondary) costs, we can cite the costs of the following types of goods and services: movable and immovable property (apartment, country house, car, etc. ) , clothing, furniture, household appliances, entertainment, paid educational services, services of cultural institutions , travel, cash savings, alcohol, other types of goods and services.

The January 2019 indicator was taken as the starting point for calculating the Index.

Examples of Indexes

ROMIR has developed a methodology for calculating the statistical Deflator index, which reflects real changes in the general level of prices for consumer goods (FMCG) for a certain period. The basis for the calculation is information from the ROMIR Unified Data Panel* about actual purchases made at real prices, so the Deflator actually demonstrates the average personal inflation of each consumer.

The price level of January 2019 was taken as 100% for calculating the Index. More than 15 million purchases actually made by residents of Russian cities in 2008–2023 were subjected to complex multifactor analysis . Based on the results of the analysis, the structure of consumption of Russian households was built, product groups with a high degree of penetration were identified, and individual goods (SKU) were selected in each of them. In total, about 200 items were selected, which are constantly updated taking into account seasonality.

The FMCG Deflator Index actually reflects the dynamics of prices for everyday goods included in the average basket of Russian consumers, which is significantly wider than the base one that Rosstat focuses on.

Examples of Indexes

ROMIR has developed a methodology for calculating the Welfare Index, an indicator that demonstrates the dynamics of the share of household expenses on food in the structure of all household expenses. The size of this share of food costs is one of the factors that determines which category of countries in terms of wealth the population under study belongs to.

In the modern economy, there are a number of indicators that characterize the level of well-being of the population. Some of them are based on analysis of household consumption, and in particular, cost structure. This is due to the following factors:

• Food costs are an expense item that is necessarily present in the budget of any household, since food is a primary basic need.
• The size of the share of the budget that the family spends on food determines the amount of money that the household can spend on other mandatory needs (housing, transportation, communications, clothing, shoes, health, etc.), for recovery (recreation, sports, culture, etc.). ), for development (education, improvement of living conditions, etc.)
• An increase in prices for food products classified as mandatory does not have a significant impact on the volume of their consumption, which may create the appearance of maintaining a balance between supply and demand in the market. However, this leads to an increase in the share of food costs in the overall structure of household expenses and a decrease in the volume of consumption of other categories of goods and services, which ultimately leads to a decrease in the standard of living of the population.
• The degree of availability and reliability of data on expenses is higher compared to income, given the fact that information on income is often hidden or distorted.
• Expenditures more accurately reflect welfare because income is only one condition for access to consumption. Costs more reflect the ability of households to meet their needs.

The analysis of consumption of Russian households, carried out on the basis of the Unified Data Panel, made it possible to calculate the Welfare Index of Russians. This indicator reflects the ratio of household expenses on food to all other household expenses. The food expenditure category includes all expenditures on both household and non-domestic food consumption, including horeca . Total household expenditure is calculated as the average monthly household expenditure on all categories of goods and services, including: ​

• everyday goods
• Food
• housing and communal services
• domestic services
• paid medical services
• transport
• connection
• cloth
• furniture
• Appliances
• entertainment
• paid educational services
• services of cultural institutions
• trips
• alcohol
• tobacco
• other types of goods and services.

To interpret the indicators of the Welfare Index, it is proposed to use international standards of living standards approved by the UN based on the Engel coefficient . Thus, a country where the share of food costs in the total income structure is 60% or more is considered extremely poor.

50%-60% - low, needs are barely met;

40%-50% - below average, basic needs are satisfied;

30%-40% - average, relatively wealthy population;

20%-30% - above average, wealthy society;

20% and less – high, wealthy society.

Examples of Indexes