India 3rd in consumer confidence

With a 15 point drop in its CCI, India ranked third with 99 points, behind Indonesia, which topped the Confidence rankings with 104 points and Denmark, which came second with 102 points in the latest round of Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence study. India ranked No. 1 in the CCI ranking in the last round of the survey in October 2008. Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) in India has started to reflect the sentiments of consumers in the rest of the world. A twice yearly study, the survey tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending habits among 25,140 Internet users in 50 countries.

"In recent times consumers have experienced an onslaught of bad news in the form of job cuts, company profit plummeting, bankruptcies and foreclosures, which has led to a reduction in consumer confidence and people's spending power," said Vatsala Pant, associate director, consumer research, The Nielsen Company - India. The latest survey, saw CCI across countries take a beating, falling seven Index points from 84 to 77. CCI fell in 49 out of the 50 countries surveyed; Taiwan was the only country to buck the global trend, edging up three points from 60 to 63.

Though, consumer confidence has dropped in India, it is also true that most respondents remain quite optimistic about the situation changing in the next twelve months. 56 percent of Indians think the country will be out of economic recession in the next twelve months. Compared to other countries in the survey, India remains quite an optimistic country. 47 percent of Indians have an optimistic perception about local job prospects in the next twelve months, with six percent considering them to be 'excellent' and 41 percent considering them 'good'. Indians perceptions towards the state of their personal finances in the next twelve months also reflect a fallen, but not defeated, outlook. 62 percent of respondents consider the state of their personal finances to be either 'excellent' (6%) or 'good' (56%) for the next twelve months.

However, while Indians may be fairly optimistic about job prospects and the state of their personal finances in the next twelve months, only three percent consider the current environment to be an 'excellent' time to buy the things that they want or need, while a further 37 percent consider it a 'good' time to make those purchases. For Indians, Putting into Savings (66%) remains the most important thing to do with spare cash after covering essential living expenses - ranking Indians the sixth greatest savers globally. Compared to the last round of the survey, the percentage of Indians putting their spare cash into savings has increased from 58 to 66 percent, reflecting the more conservative mindset of Indians currently. Paying off debts/credit cards/loans follows as the second most popular thing to do with spare cash, garnering 38 percent of Indians' votes, representing a four percent increase compared to the last round of the survey.

"Indians have become more conscious about the way they handle money. In an uncertain economic future, people are taking fewer risks on the stock market and are attempting to get on top of their liabilities as fast as possible in terms of debts and loans." continued Pant. For more than two in five Indians (44%), Job Security tops the list of major concerns in the next six months, and the ninth highest percentage globally. Job security has seen a sharp increase – more than doubling, in fact, compared to the previous round of the survey, where it was a major concern for only 19 percent of Indian respondents. Whereas, terrorism topped the global charts in the October'08 survey, this time round it has dropped a little in importance for Indians. India ranks number two with 16 percent votes for its concern over terrorism. It is interesting to note that globally only three percent of respondents are concerned about terrorism. Other major concerns for Indians include Work/Life balance (16%), Children's education &/or welfare (13%), Parents' welfare & happiness (13%), Political Stability (12%), Global Warming (8%), Debt, Health, and Increasing food prices (all 7%), Increasing utility bills (6%), etc.

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