Nielsen has released its consumer confidence report for 4th quarter of 2010 and the scene only looks worse for the developed nations. Consumer confidence fell in 25 of 52 countries QoQ. India maintains its lead with a marginal rise in index from last quarter. This is a good sign for us as this means that the economy is fast moving out of the slowdown. But global economic conditions have made Indians wary about the future and there is some restraint in spending habits.
Key Takeaways:
- 30% Indians think that the country is still in an economic recession ( 3% lower than last quarter). 55% of these believe that we will see brighter days by the end of 2011.
- Nine out of ten Indians are optimistic about their job prospects in the next twelve months.
- 84% are optimistic about their personal finances. Highest worldwide.
- 44% think that this isn’t the right time to buy necessary goods. This is 3% higher than Q3 2010.
- Savings and Stock/Mutual fund investment are the top priority with the spare cash.
- Spending on technology products as the third most preferred disposition of spare cash.
- Interest in buying clothes/movies/holidays has dropped marginally.
Even though we are the most confident global consumers, we are still wary of going out and spending. Inflation of food prices is the top most concern for Indians. More than 72% Indians claim to have changed there spending habits to cope up with the household expenses.
How have you changed your spending habits? Saying no to pizzas and movies anyone?
[Naman is a startup enthusiast and has worked with couple of Indian startups as Product Manager. He is the founder of FindYogi]
