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29 August 2006
Korea
Six of the world’s most optimistic markets hail from Asia Pacific
Although Economy and Job Security continue to worry the region’s consumers
Concern for Health top of mind for consumers in Europe
Korea, August 29, 2006 --- Global consumers’ confidence remains at 2005 levels, with Indians leading the world in the 2006 ACNielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, followed by the Norwegians and Danes,.
According to ACNielsen, the world’s leading market research and information company, the 2006 ACNielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index hit 98, showing confidence levels of the world’s consumers on a par with those in November 2005, when the survey was last conducted. In the regions, only North America managed to maintain confidence at its November 2005 levels, while Asia Pacific and Europe both experienced a drop.
India again tops the world with the highest score of 131, closely followed by Scandinavians, who made their way into the ranking as the world’s second and third most optimistic markets, with Norway and Denmark hitting 130 and 127 respectively.
“Consumers in India remain very optimistic about their economy and are upbeat about the future, with India topping the world as the most optimistic nation for the third time in a row since the Index was established in early 2005,” said MD, COUNTRY X. “India’s score climbed from 94 to 132 and settled at 131 this time round. Besides India, six out of the top 10 most optimistic markets all hail from Asia Pacific.”
The survey found that the world’s most optimistic consumers live in Asia-Pacific, in spite of New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia registering a drop in their scores in this survey. On the other hand, Hong Kong (111) and Indonesia (111) registered an increase of five and seven points respectively. (Table 1)
“This is a major turnaround for Indonesia, which has gradually climbed the Global Confidence ranking, making it into the top 10 most optimistic countries list for the first time”.
Major concerns
While overall consumer confidence has been sustained, globally, consumers continue to cite the Economy (47%), Health (37%) and Job Security (31%) as their major concerns for the next six months. Their level of importance however, varies by regions. The Economy and Job Security rank highly in Asia Pacific, and concern about Health is top of mind among many Europeans. Interestingly, compared to other regions, North Americans were the least concerned about Job Security.
Led by Thailand (77%), Malaysia (71%) and Indonesia (70%), eight of the 10 markets expressing greatest concern for the Economy originated from Asia Pacific, with many of them experiencing an increase in concern compared to when the survey was conducted last November. On the other hand, Filipinos and Koreans appear to be less concerned with their Economy, with 55 percent of consumers citing the Economy as their major concern compare to 69 percent and 64 percent respectively in the previous survey. Germany and Turkey are the other, and only, two European markets concerned about the Economy, taking over from Greece and Austria who both made the top 10 list in the previous survey (Table 2)
A newcomer to the global survey, Vietnam, ranked 1st on the global list with nearly three quarters of Vietnamese concerned about job security, followed by Hungary (59%) at a distant second and Korea (55%). Other Asian markets occupying the list were Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines. Interestingly, Greece replaced Germany as one of the European countries most concerned when it comes to Job Security. (Table 3)
Ever since reports of outbreaks of the avian flu first appeared in Europe, on the tail of an occasional mad-cow outbreak, consumers on the European continent have shown increasing concern for their own health, surpassing their North American counterparts with an eight-point increase in concern for their health. In the latest survey, nearly four in 10 Europeans cited Health as one of their major concerns, followed by those in Asia Pacific (36%) and North America (34%). Topping the world with the greatest number of hypochondriacs were Hungary, Czechoslovakia and people in the Baltics. (Table 4)
While not always a top of mind concern for consumers in Asia Pacific, political stability appears to be a major concern for more than four in 10 people in Thailand and Taiwan, surpassing more personal concerns such as Job Security and Health, and representing an increase of 23 percentage points for Thailand, and eight percentage point for Taiwan compare to the last round of the survey in November.
The ACNielsen Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey is the largest half-yearly survey of its kind aiming at gauging current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and current major concerns of consumers across the globe. The ACNielsen Consumer Confidence Index is developed based on consumer’s confidence in the job market, status of their personal finance and their readiness to spend. The latest survey, conducted in late May/early June, polled about 21,780 internet users in 40 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America to the Baltics.
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns. To learn more, visit www.acnielsen.com.
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Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
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