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1 October 2007
Seoul
South Korea --- Consumers in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sweden appear to be riding a wave of confidence in the midst of a general softening of consumer sentiment globally, according to the latest Global Consumer Confidence Study issued by The Nielsen Company. The Nielsen Company recorded a Global Consumer Confidence Index of 97 in its April 2007 survey, down slightly by two points from 99 in October 2006. Indians continue to register in the Nielsen Index as the most optimistic people in the world, with a confidence index of 135, albeit down slightly from 137 recorded in October 2006.
In the six months since the survey was last conducted in October 2006, consumer confidence fell in 35 of the 47 countries covered by Nielsen’s global consumer survey. Consumers in HK and Sweden are at their most confident, registering a significant increase of 6-7 points from the October 2006 survey. Hong Kong consumer sentiment, in particular, appears to have reached an all-time high, with an Index of 118, up from 111 in 2006.
The survey polled 26,486 internet users in 47 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East about their job prospects, the state of their own finances, and what they do with their spare cash.
Vietnam, a market increasingly in the spotlight, appears to have enjoyed a steady increase in consumer confidence from 106 in the first half of 2006 to 116 in the second half of the same year, to 118 this time round, making it one of the top five most confident markets in the world, along with Hong Kong. (Table 1)
“Globally, consumers appear to have erred on the side of caution in the first half of this year with a softening of consumer confidence across the board according to our survey, although as far as Asia Pacific is concerned, markets such as India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Pacific continue to hold up well,” said Eunhee Shin, President, ACNielsen Korea.
Globally, 58 percent of consumers are optimistic about the state of their personal finances in the next 12 months, led by Indians and Norwegians. Among the top 10 most confident about their personal finances, Hong Kong recorded the greatest increase, with three quarters optimistic about their financial status, compared with just two-thirds in Nov 2006.
And while only 40 percent of consumers globally consider the next 12 months a good time to buy the things they want and need, more than 60 percent of people in the Nordics, Hong Kong and India consider now to be a good time to spend. Hong Kong again recorded a seven-percentage point increase in consumers’ desire to spend.
What consumers are buying, once they’ve covered the essential
Saving for a rainy day continues to be the main priority for 43 percent of the world’s consumers, when they consider what they will do with their spare cash after covering essential living expenses, led by consumers in Asia (53%).
Vacations (36%) and New Clothes (32%) are the top two most popular spending options for consumers across the globe. With the global stock markets riding high in recent months, consumers’ intention to invest in share of stocks/mutual funds is on the increase, up from 17 percent in October 2006 to 23 percent this year. The desire to put spare cash into superannuation / pension funds strengthened along similar lines. Hong Kong (56%) tops the world with the most people saying they will invest in stocks and shares in the hope of for greater return to probably support their other material desires! In the fast-growing economies of China (54%) and India (53%) where stock markets have been under the international spotlight, consumers seem equally eager to get into the share market.
Major concerns
With the softened consumer sentiment, it is not surprising that the Economy (41%), Health (37%) and Job Security (30%) remain the major concerns for the world consumers in the next six months.
The Economy
Globally, consumers in Indonesia (74%), China (65%) and HK (64%) are the world’s most concerned about the Economy, with their level of concern significantly exceeding the world average.
Health
Health remains one of the top concerns for more than a third of the world’s consumers, led by China (63%) and the Eastern European countries of Hungary (62%) and Czechs Republic (56%).
Job Security
Despite an improving job market in a number of countries, Job Security remains a concern for consumers in Hungary (61%), Korea and Vietnam (57%).
Global Warming capturing the world’s attention
Global Warming is fast emerging as one of the major concerns among the world’s consumers with 17 percent citing it as a major concern, up from seven percent in October 2006.
“The recent publication of a number of reports on environmental issues have increased consumer awareness of global warming in Asia Pacific, with concern levels increasing across the region, led by Australia, Japan and Hong Kong,” Ms. Shin added.
The Least Optimistic
The world’s most pessimistic consumers hail mainly from Europe, although South Korea (50). Japan (68) and Taiwan (75) remain at the bottom of the list as far as the Asia region is concerned. Globally, the majority of consumers in Portugal, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hungary are quite pessimistic, whether about the job market, state of their personal finances or readiness to spend. Europeans and Northern Americans are the first to admit they don’t have any spare cash for discretionary spending either.
The Survey
The Nielsen Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey is the largest half-yearly survey of its kind, aimed at gauging current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and current major concerns of consumers across the globe. The Nielsen 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 the last two weeks of April, polled about 26,486 internet users in 47 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
47 Markets Covered: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czechs Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, US and Vietnam.
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