C Class already has more than one fourth of the purchasing power
O Estado de S. Paulo - 03/30/2008
The consumption potential of the C class, which is already the majority of the Brazilian population, amounted to R$ 365 billion (US$ 207.4 billion) in 2007. It represents little more than the total purchasing capacity of all the families who live in the cities, which reached R$ 1.4 trillion (US$ 795.5 billion) last year. "No social class alone has greater consumption potential than the C class", affirms Marcos Pazzini, director of the consulting company Target, which estimated the potential purchasing power of all the social classes. The consumption capacity of the C class, which last year had an average monthly family income of R$ 1,062 (US$ 603.4), stands out if compared to the A and B classes and their subdivisions. The importance of this huge middle class - that is now being formed in the Country - gained clearer outlines last week, when the financial company Cetelem, of the French BNP Paribas group released an X-ray of the C class. The survey, made by Instituto Ipsos with 1,500 interviews, reveals that the C class currently has 86.2 million people and is the majority of the population (46%). Last year almost 20 million people became part of this social stratum. According to the survey, the majority (60%) came from of the lower income layers, D and E classes. The growth in the number of employed people, credit facilities, price stability and social programs' resources were the passport for the upward social mobility of the poorer and for the development of a large middle class. The survey shows the C class has several consumption aspirations that, in part, are already being accomplished. Among them, the purchase of home appliances, cellular phones, computer, among other items, thanks to the credit facilities, with longer payment terms and lower interest rates. But the great dream of consumption of this part of the population is to have a house. The survey shows that 16% of those who are part of the C class intend to buy a house this year, a record level. In 2005, this index was 10% and went to 14% in 2006.