Indian consumer confidence down in Q3, but highest globally

Consumer confidence in India in the third quarter of 2012 has gone down compared to last year and 62 per cent of them believe the country is going through an economic recession this quarter, according to provider of information and insights Nielsen.

Yet, Indians, along with Indonesians, continue to be the most upbeat globally, according to Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index.

The levels of optimism reported by Indian respondents this quarter are three points lower than the third quarter in 2011, where India was leading the global sentiment at 121 points, Neilsen said in a statement.

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"More than three in five online respondents (62 per cent) said they believe India is going through an economic recession this quarter," it added.

In the same quarter last year, only 44 per cent of the respondents had felt India was going through an economic recession.

In the third quarter of 2012, India and Indonesia (119) reported the highest index scores globally, followed by Philippines (118), it added.

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Commenting on the findings, Nielsen India Region president Piyush Mathur said: "While the second quarter of the year indicated a growing anxiousness amongst Indian consumers, the third quarter echoes that sentiment across key parameters for the Indian consumer today."

Although the sentiment of rising inflation combined with other economic and personal pressures have taken a toll on consumer confidence, the Indian consumer seems to have reconciled with the challenges, he added.

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"In a typically resilient fashion, they have adopted various strategies to counter inflation through a much keener effort to seek better deals at the point of sale and by timing bigger ticket purchases," Mathur said.

According to the latest findings, 77 per cent of online respondents in India are optimistic about their employment, which is down from 81 per cent from the same quarter last year but consistent with the second quarter of 2012.

"Globally, Indian online consumers (77 per cent), followed by online consumers in Philippines (72 per cent) and Thailand (72 per cent), are the most optimistic about their job prospects in the next twelve months," Neilsen said.

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Job security (22 per cent) and state of the economy (14 per cent) continue to be the biggest concerns for Indian respondents, the Nielsen survey said.

The survey was conducted between August 10 and September 7, 2012, polling more than 29,000 online consumers in 58 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, West Asia, Africa and North America.

According to the survey, less number of Indians consider it a good time to buy things they want and need at 49 per cent, down from 54 per cent in the same quarter last year.

More number of Indian consumers have changed their spending habits to save on household expenses with 79 per cent online respondents admitting to such taking up such steps, up from 76 per cent in the same quarter last year.