PHL consumers most confident in Q3 after Indonesia, India – Nielsen

Filipino consumers are the most confident and optimistic in the world after Indonesia and India, results of the latest Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index showed.

  Optimism toward job prospects in the next 12 months and growing confidence about the economy and positive feelings toward personal finance, kept Filipinos in a buoyant mood for the third quarter, according to the Nielsen survey which studied consumer sentiment in 58 countries,   The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions was conducted August 10 – September 7, 2012 and polled more than 29,000 online consumers in 58 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America, Nielsen said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday.   Bulgaria, Slovakia, and France were the least positive in the terms of consumer confidence, the Nielsen survey showed.   Nielsen’s latest Consumer Confidence Index showed the Philippines kept its position – the second highest in terms of positive sentiment in the third quarter of 2012, with Indonesia and India sharing the top spot –  with its consumer confidence score gaining 6 points to 118 from 112 in the second quarter.   As in the second quarter, the Philippines occupied the same spot after Indonesia and India.   “This paints a positive picture for the third quarter of 2012,” said Stuart Jamieson, managing director of Nielsen Philippines.   “The high confidence can be attributed to the positive perception regarding local job prospects in the country for the next 12 months, which at this point is the second highest worldwide,” Jamieson noted.   “Expansion plans in the energy, transportation, telecom industries and largely, the BPOs (business process outsourcing), are helping to create this positive perception in the country,” he added.   The study revealed online Filipino consumers felt positive about the state of their personal finances, ranking second among the most optimistic in the world. Since many of its citizens are still mired in uncertainty, the “Philippines is among the Top 10 countries which prioritize savings when there is spare cash in the household,” Jamieson said.   The poll found 67 percent of respondents chose to save money rather than buy new technology products (34 percent), purchase new clothes (32 percent), pay off debts, credit cards and/or loans (28 percent), or spend it on holiday or vacation (27 percent).   Spare cash was set aside, the poll learned, to offset lingering worries about job security, work/life balance, health, welfare and happiness of parents and education and/or welfare of children.   “This is a true mirror of the Filipino culture which is very focused on the family,” said Jamieson.   “These five major concerns are all related to the family whether it is for the parents’ or children’s welfare,” Jamieson noted. “If you look at it worldwide, the Philippines is No. 1 among the Top 10 countries who said that they are concerned about their parents’ welfare and happiness.”   Still, Filipino concern about the economy bowed out of the Top 5 concerns this year to No. 6, Nielsen said.   While recessionary sentiment increased seven percentage points in Asia-Pacific to 52 percent, Filipino sentiments towards the economic state of the Philippines improved with 56 percent compared to 59 percent in the second quarter.   In contrast, 86 percent of Korean and Taiwanese respondents felt that they were in recession in July to September.   Twenty-nine percent of Filipino respondents were confident that the country would be out of an economic recession in 12 months, a slight improvement from 27 percent during the second and first quarters of the year.   Thus, for the third quarter Filipinos believed it was a good time to buy things that they want and need over the next 12 months, with this perception showing a slight improvement to 7 percent from 5 percent a year earlier. Thirty-nine percent of the respondents said that it was a good time to buy compared to 42 percent in Q3 2011.   But this optimism was not translated into a spending splurge. When asked if they have change their spending to save on household expenses (compared with a year earlier), 78 percent of Filipino respondents said “Yes” and 22 percent said “No” – both ratings unchanged from the second quarter survey results.   Filipinos revealed they cut their expenses on new clothes, saved on gas and electricity, delayed upgrades on technology like computers and mobile devices, switched to cheaper grocery brands and did not buy meals to go.   Even if economic conditions improve, the respondents said that they would continue saving money.   The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, established in 2005, measures consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism.  — VS, GMA News