DTI chief underscores need to bring back consumer confidence

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez delivers his speech at the Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat campaign on Thursday (October, 8, 2020). (Screengrab from  Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat campaign launch)

MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez underscored on Thursday the importance of safe reopening of businesses to bring back consumer confidence.

At the launch of the “Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat” campaign, Lopez noted that despite the government allowing the reopening of many businesses and economic activities, their businesses are still recovering.

“As we are reopening the economy, we feel that it’s quite difficult to bring back automatically the consumer confidence,” Lopez said.

He expressed his support to the private sector-led “Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat”, a campaign that encourages business to put safety as a top priority in their operations and empowers consumers to help rebuild the economy and protect jobs by giving them the tools and information to safely commute, shop from their favorite stores, and patronize their favorite restaurants.

“And efforts we are doing now, on consumer safety and economic recovery is really what we need,” he said.

A study by Cobena, a data science and management consulting firm, shows that top sentiments online of Metro Manila consumers amid the pandemic were the desire to go back to the ‘old normal’ and the fear of contracting of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

“Filipinos in Metro Manila are already hoping to return to the life that they are accustomed to. They are aware of the risk but cognizant of the steps that must be taken to stay safe,” Cobena senior market research and marketing technologist Pierre Samson said.

“Our economy is really damaged, and it’s really about time to revive the economy, re-stimulate the demand. And to be able (to) do that, we really need to bring back consumer confidence,” Lopez said. (PNA)