Bangkok--4 Aug--NIELSEN
Consumer Confidence Index dipped 3 points to 92 but still 11 points from all-time low in Q1 2009
Thailand in number 2 position globally in terms of consumers’ intention to save spare cash
Consumer confidence in Thailand dropped slightly from 95 index points in the first quarter of 2010 to 92 index points in the second quarter, according to the latest Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index. While the latest consumer confidence index in Thailand dipped three points, it is still up 11 points from the all-time low of 81 in Q1’2009. Consumer Confidence Index levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism respectively.
Aaron Cross, Managing Director of Nielsen Thailand said, “Consumer sentiment in Thailand has clearly been negatively impacted in the aftermath of the political unrest in May. Not surprisingly, consumers are likely to cut back further on discretionary spending such as out-of-home entertainment. On the other hand, spending on necessities such as FMCG products continues as business-as-usual albeit prudently. Nielsen’s Retail Index shows that the overall Thailand FMCG industry achieved a healthy 3.7% volume growth in the first six months this year, compared to the same period last year.”
Globally, consumer confidence cautiously edged up one index point to 93 in the second quarter as confidence increases in booming Asian markets were offset by European consumers’ growing concerns of an escalating debt crisis. Six out of the top 10 most optimistic nations in the second quarter of 2010 were from Asia - India (129 index points), Indonesia and Vietnam (both 119 index points) were the most optimistic nations in Q2. Vietnam recorded the highest consumer confidence increase in Q2 soaring 18 index points to 119. (See Table 1 for more details)
Nielsen’s latest study was undertaken from 10 — 26 May 2010, amidst the political unrest in Bangkok. Other highlights of the survey include:
Consumers see rain clouds ahead
In Q2 2010, 76 percent of Thai consumers believe that the country is still in recession, up from 71 percent last quarter. 25 percent of these consumers believe their country will head out of recession within 12 months while 42 percent believe the recession will linger for more than 12 months.
Thai consumers were more pessimistic in terms of job prospects over the next 12 months with 62 percent indicating they feel negative about employment prospects compared to 56 percent in Q1.
The proportion of consumers who believe their personal finances are in an excellent/good state also fell from 53 percent in Q1 2010 to 50 percent in Q2 2010. Consequently, only 38 percent of consumers feel that now is the right time to buy things they want over the next 12 months.
Thai consumers continue to be savers, and rank number 2 in the world
Globally, Thailand ranked second in the world in terms of intention to save spare cash. 71 percent of consumers indicated they will save their spare cash after covering necessary living expenses. Besides savings, vacations (48%), new technology (28%), home improvement and paying off debts/credit cards/loans (25%) also rank high among Thai consumers’ spending options. (Table 2, Table 4)
The Nielsen survey also revealed that 85 percent of Thai consumers changed their spending habits to save on household expenses. Thai consumers indicated that they are likely to reduce their expenditures in the following categories (ranked by % of respondents)
New clothes 56%Gas & Electricity 56%Out of home entertainment 54%Telephone expenses 41%Vacations 34%
Political stability and the economy are top 2 concerns over the next 6 months
The political unrest in May continue to linger in the minds of Thai consumers. 23 percent of consumers cite political stability as their most pressing concern, the highest percentage globally. The next most pressing concern cited was the country’s economic situation (17%), followed by global warming (8%) and job security (7%) (Table 3)
About the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey
The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey was conducted between May 10 and May 26, 2010 and polled approximately 27, 000 consumers in 48 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America 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 measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related assets. The privately held company has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com