Survey: Consumer confidence up in Q2
KUALA LUMPUR: An online survey
by Nielsen shows consumer confidence in Malaysia rose four points to an index
of 111 in the second quarter.
It also shows that the
country advanced to fifth place from seventh among the 56 countries surveyed in
terms of confidence level, after Indonesia (120), India (119), the Philippines
(116) and Saudi Arabia (115).
The survey of consumer
confidence and spending intentions had been conducted in May and polled about
28,000 online consumers in 56 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America,
the Middle East, Africa and North America.
“Several developments
have prompted an upbeat attitude among Malaysians,” said Nielsen Malaysia managing director Richard
Hall in a statement.
“Inflation grew at a
slower pace since February, the ringgit outperformed Asian currencies in the
first four months of the year, corporate earnings showed a favorable outlook
for 2012 and manufacturing output picked up pace in February, March and April.”
Nielsen said despite the
optimism shown in several indicators, the movement of the fast-moving consumer
goods showed a slowdown year-on-year in the last three months.
It said although May
sales grew 2.8% month-on-month, with 67 categories reporting growth, sales were
stagnant in May 2012 compared with May 2011.
“The trends actually
indicate that optimism does not necessarily translate into spending, as
Malaysians are among the highest savers in world.
“The survey shows that
almost three out of five (59%) online respondents actually saved their spare
cash. Consumers are holding back spending and deferring purchasing plans amid
uncertainties with their ‘wait-and-see’ attitude,” said Hall.
Nielsen noted that there
was evidence of consumers holding back their expenses by controlling household
budgets after paying off essential living expenses.
“There are 10 online
respondents who actually claimed that they would still continue to cut down on
out-of-home entertainment to manage their budget even in the event that
economic conditions improved,” it said.
The survey also showed
that the state of the economy remains the biggest concern for consumers
surveyed.
Source : The Star
Date : 18 July 2012
afternoon
highlight (18/07/12/126/600)
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