Global Consumer Confidence Rebounds:

Tuesday 03 November 2009 15:14
THAI Consumer Confidence Index Up thirteen Points In Last Six Months But Spending Still Restrained

The world is emerging from the economic crisis, and with it, global consumer confidence is rebounding. According to the latest edition of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, Thai consumer confidence jumped from 81 index points in April to 94 points in October, exceeding the global average.

Nielsen’s Global Consumer Confidence Index tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending habits among more than 30,500 internet users in 54 countries. The latest round of the survey was conducted between 28 September and 16 October 2009

The Nielsen survey found that Thai consumers’ confidence has increased 13 points from 81 in its April 2009 survey to 94 this time round while globally, the Nielsen Confidence Index has also rose nine points from 77 in April to 86. As massive stimulus plans began to take effect during the second quarter, consumer confidence around the world including Thailand slowly began to recover from their lowest points in the last six months. (Table 1)

Of the 52 countries surveyed, 45 have recorded an increase compared to six months ago. Consumer sentiment is optimistic globally - India, Indonesia and Norway continued to top the global rankings for the most confident nations, while the most pessimistic nations were Latvia and Japan.

“A nine-point surge in consumer confidence signifies a welcome return to positive territory. It really demonstrates that in the last six months consumer sentiment across the globe has shifted gears from recession to recovery - the tide has turned,” said James Russo, Vice President, Global Consumer Insights at The Nielsen Company.

In Thailand, 75 percent of Thai consumers said their economy is in recession, down from 84 in April 2009. Among consumers who say they are still in recession, 28 percent of them expect that their country will be out of recession within 12 months.

For many consumers in Asia Pacific and Latin America the recession is becoming past tense. Amongst Chinese, 87 percent said their nation is out of recession, while over 60 percent of citizens in Hong Kong, Norway and Australia said the same. Meanwhile, half of Brazilians, Indians and Chileans also believed that the recession has ended.

Thailand's eight point increase in the last quarter was driven by strong improvements in local job prospects and personal income across the country. Nearly four in ten Thai consumers described local job prospects as “good” or “excellent” in the next 12 months, a 12 percent increase compared to the second quarter.

It was clear in the previous Nielsen survey conducted in July that consumers began to feel the economy had bottomed out and was on the road to recovery.

Aaron Cross, Managing Director, The Nielsen Company, Thailand said “in quarter three we are seeing an extension of this optimism but consumers in Thailand are still hesitant to go out and spend money. Putting money into savings continues to be the strongest desire for 57 percent of Thai consumers, yet the results indicate that there is a willingness to spend on holidays/vacations if they have spare cash ”

Thinking Beyond a Recession

While global consumers continue to voice concerns about the economy and job security, many have started to focus on other issues. Worrying about the economy has decreased over the past six months. In April 27 percent of Thai consumers named the economy as their main concern in life, closely followed by the job security (14%). Today, 21 percent of Thai consumers say the economy is their prime concern and 8 percent of them are concerned about job security. The Nielsen survey also revealed that most Thai consumers (84%) say they have changed their spending habits compared to last year. According to the survey Thais will reduce the following expenses:

New clothes 65%Gas & Electricity 60%Out of home entertainment 60%Telephone expenses 49%

About the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey was conducted 28 September — 16 October, 2009 and polled over 30,500 consumers in Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East about their confidence levels and economic outlook. The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index is developed based on consumers’ confidence in the job market, status of their personal finances and readiness to spend. The sample has quotas based on age and sex for each country based on their Internet users, and is weighted to be representative of Internet consumers and has a maximum margin of error of ?0.6%.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com

CONTACT: For Immediate Release

Nitjawan Khooha (Nikki)

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Tel:02-674-6000 ext.5131 or 089-7727707