Out-of-home entertainment, upgrading technology and new clothes are the top three belt-tightening areas for Thai consumers faced with a cost-of-living increase following oil-price and interest-rate rises, according to a survey by ACNielsen.

The global survey, conducted across 42 countries in November 2005, polled over 23,500 respondents, who were regular Internet-users.

Over half of the respondents (57 per cent) claimed they would cut down on out-of-home entertainment to stay within their budgets, while 53 per cent said they would spend less on new clothes. Nearly half (48 per cent) also said they would delay upgrading technology.

Across the Asia-Pacific region consumers' priorities varied slightly with clothes shopping higher on peoples' list of priorities than upgrading technology. Out-of-home entertainment still ranked top of non-essential things to cut down on, led by Thailand (73 per cent), Hong Kong (70 per cent) and Taiwan (64 per cent).

Upgrading technology was second on the list, with Thailand on top (61 per cent), closely followed by Singapore (60 per cent) and China (59 per cent).

Spending less on fashion was the third thing Asia-Pacific consumers would consider, led by the Philippines (62 per cent), Australia (57 per cent) and New Zealand (54 per cent).

Cross-referencing these belt-tightening measures with an earlier ACNielsen survey about how consumers spend spare cash once essential living expenses have been taken care of, it is clear that while people in the Asia-Pacific region are pretty determined to stick to their holiday plans they still focus on putting their money into savings.

In Thailand, as the economy continues on a slight downturn from last year, more than half of Thai consumers are focused on savings and do not think it is a good time to spend.

Nearly half of them also mentioned they would cut down on non-essential living expenses to counteract the escalating price of fuel.

"To a degree belt-tightening strategies are a reflection of lifestyles in each region and show where the biggest savings can be made," said Chantira Luesakul, managing director of ACNielsen Thailand.