9 faces of Singaporean consumer credit behavior

How should we call somebody who's fond of buying expensive consumer goods but most likely to default in payment? - Find out your group.

DP Credit Bureau, Singapore’s consumer credit bureau and an Experian  company, today reveals new insight into Singaporean consumer credit behaviour using Experian Mosaic  Singapore, Experian’s consumer classification system. 

Mapping credit behaviour against consumer demographic and lifestyle profiles, the analysis paints a rich picture of Singaporeans today giving lenders the ability to understand in greater detail how different consumer groups manage their money and their credit.

Lenders can use this unique data to gain greater insight into the acquisition and management of their consumer credit portfolios.

Experian Mosaic Singapore classifications were profiled against the DP-Delphi consumer scores from DP Credit Bureau.

The resulting analysis revealed reveals that Singaporeans have nine different faces - from the Kopitiam Lifestyles through to the Working Class Traditionalists –each one represents a different group within society that has its own characteristics, lifestyle and behaviour.

The 9 faces of Singaporeans are the following:

The greatest proportion of high income earners are found in the Affluent Elegance and Cosmopolitan
Central groups. A high 41% of Singaporeans living in Affluent Elegance, and 34% of Cosmopolitan Central
households have incomes of $8,000 of more per month.

However, the two groups have very different demographic profiles and credit behaviour. The rate of default on unsecured credit products for Affluent Elegance is just 0.8%. For Cosmopolitan Central it is more than 400% higher – 2.7% of all unsecured debt products are in default.

This is because of the behaviour of the two high-income groups is very different. Cosmopolitan Centrals are more likely to buy expensive consumer goods to live the lifestyle to which they aspire - they are younger and independently ambitious, and are more open to taking on credit. Affluent Elegance’s tend to be more stable in their consumption, and have often accumulated their luxury and lifestyle items.

About 25% to 33% of consumers in all groups have a high DP-Delphi Score. This means their credit behaviour is excellent and they pay their debts in full and on time.

This high percentage across all nine groups indicates that Singaporeans generally are very responsible users of credit.

Although the Upscale Pragmatics, Well-healed Clans and Cautious Community groups have between 13% – 14% of consumers with incomes of $8,000 and above per month, the  Cautious Community group (33.5%) have the highest percentage of DP-Delphi Scores and the best credit behaviour amongst all ninegroups.

However, at the other end of the DP-Delphi Score scale are the consumers that a moderate to higher credit risk. Three groups - Working Class Traditionalists, Kopitiam Lifestyles and Contemporary  Homemakers have more consumers with moderate to lower DP-Delphi Scores, indicating that many of  these households may be under greater financial stress.