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Indians retain top spot in global shopping index
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 04 November 2010, 17:47 IST
New Delhi: For the third consecutive year India has retained the top spot as the most confident nation in research firm Nielsen's consumer confident index for the quarter ending December. Globally, Indian consumers are the most confident as they intend to allocate a greater share of discretionary spend towards buying equity and latest technology products. An optimistic outlook in terms of job prospects and personal finances gives Indians the confidence to spend, the report said.
According to the report, increasing food and fuel prices and maintaining a stable work-life balance are the two major concerns of the Indian consumers.
Most Indians feel these are exciting times to buy things they want and need in the next 12 months. This is not surprising, considering India is among the fastest-growing major economies. The booming stock market, which is close to its all-time high, has also added to the positive sentiment. "The festive season apart, a combination of factors is expected to lead to greater spending and enthusiastic buying behaviour as marketers tap into the confidence of the Indian consumer," said Justin Sargent, Managing Director (consumer business), Nielsen.
Nielsen conducted an online survey covering some 26,000 people across 53 countries, which found positive sentiments drove confidence levels in the first two quarters of the year, but declined in 20 of 53 global markets in the third quarter. The consumer confidence index is prepared quarterly based on consumers' confidence in the job market, status of their personal finances and readiness to spend.
Of the 500 Indians that took part in the survey, nine out of ten seemed positive about their job prospects in the next 12 months. Besides, more than two-thirds expected their state of personal finances to be good in the next 12 months.
"This year is better than the previous year and we expect to notch higher sales till December. While fresh purchases are driving growth in rural areas, buyers are upgrading to high-end products in the urban areas," R Zutshi, Deputy Managing Director, Samsung India, said. Overall, consumer confidence level stabilised in the beginning of the third quarter after witnessing a steady increase in the first two quarters. The report also brought out that consumer confidence level in most markets have shown continued spending restraints.
"Stabilised consumer confidence level implies that consumers are wary of the uncertainties that surround global economy, particularly Europe and some parts of the U.S. However, we continue to see buoyancy in the Indian market and definitely higher spending, going forward," Sargent said.
Indians continue to put spare cash for savings, invest in shares and mutual funds and are keen to purchase new technology products, the report said. Nearly 65 percent of the Indian respondents put their spare cash into savings, which is higher by two percentage points in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. After savings, Indians like to invest in equity and mutual funds.