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17 September 2006
Bangkok
The Thai consumers’ confidence has declined from 96 to 95 points over the past 6 months while globally, the scores have held to their 2005 levels. However, the Thai consumers seem more optimistic about the state of their personal finances for the year ahead; ranking #1 in the world in terms of ‘people planning to save any leftover cash after paying for essential living expenses’, according to ACNielsen, the world’s leading market research and information company.
Ms. Chantira Luesakul, Managing Director, ACNielsen (Thailand) Ltd. points out, “Their strong desire to ‘save for a rainy day’ may in part be explained by their increasing pessimism about local job prospects as well as their skepticism about whether now is the right time to buy what they need over the next 12 months”.
These findings on global consumer confidence and spending habits/intentions were reported from the latest 2006 ACNielsen Global Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey conducted in late May/early June this year. This biannually online survey, the largest of its kind, polled 21,780 Internet users across 40 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.
IIndian consumers, the most upbeat in the world
India has topped the global index (with a score of 131 in 2006) for the 3rd consecutive year since the Consumer Confidence Index was established in early 2005; followed closely by the Scandinavians, Norway and Denmark (with scores of 130 & 127 respectively) who rank as the 2nd and 3rd most optimistic markets in the world. ( Table1)
Thailand cautious & pessimistic over local job prospects
Like the Thais, consumers the world over are cautious and pessimistic about ‘local job prospects’ compared to a year ago. However, in Thailand, this caution & pessimism seems to be even more pronounced with 62% perceiving them to be ‘not so good’, which is up from 55% over the previous survey in November 2005.
More than half of Thais were confident about their personal finances
The Asia Pacific consumer as a whole is the most cautious group in terms of their financial outlook. More than half (52%) are ‘least comfortable’ with the state of their personal finances over the next year, representing a drop of 9% over the last survey. On the other hand, more than half the Thais (57%) were confident about their personal finances.
Thais most keen savers in the world
Thailand tops the global ranking with the largest numbers of savers (70%, up 15% over the previous November 2005 survey). The Philippines (63%), Singapore & Taiwan also do well with a score of 60% each. In fact, Asia Pacific as a whole does well on this front with the world’s top savers coming from this region, with 54% putting their spare cash into savings compared with 37% for the North Americans and 29% for Europeans. ( Table 4 )
Ms. Chantira Luesakul further adds, “Economic and political factors influence Thais’ penchant to save for a rainy day, with levels higher than other markets in the world. With concerns about the economy and political uncertainty, putting spare cash into saving is certainly the safest financial option for these consumers”.
Fewer believe it’s a good time to buy
More than half the world’s consumers as well as the Thais consider it ‘not a good time’ to buy things they want over the next 12 months. Only 40% is Europe and 34% in Asia Pacific believe that ‘it is a good time to buy’ while the North Americans seem more upbeat with 48% thinking ‘it is a good time to buy’ despite rising national concern for personal debt and soaring fuel prices. Additionally, more consumers claim ‘not to have spare cash’ in this round of the survey over the previous one.
On the other hand, consumers from Denmark (74%), Norway (65%) and India (61%) are ‘most likely to go on a spending spree’ in the next 12 months. Within Asia Pacific, consumers in Hong Kong (54%), Australia and New Zealand (52% each) think it’s a good time to indulge themselves in some ‘shopping therapy’!
Holidays/Vacations rule in Asia Pacific; specifically Thailand
Also, the Asia Pacific consumers have been consistently indulging themselves on Holidays/Vacations (37%), their most preferred spending option. Moreover, Thailand (58%) topped the Asia Pacific region & ranked 2nd globally on this front. Apart from this, consumers in Asia Pacific are now increasingly spending on Out of Home Entertainment (30%) and New Clothes (28%) over New Technology (24%).
Asia Pacific finds the financial markets attractive
Consumers in Asia Pacific seem to be more interested in playing the financial markets than any other region, with 1 in 4 consumers choosing to invest in stocks/mutual funds. In fact, 7 of the top 10 countries that will invest in the financial markets hail from Asia Pacific! Taiwan (42%), Hong Kong and India (40% each) lead this trend.
Markets covered
Australia (Aus), Austria (AT), Belgium (Bel), Canada (Can), Denmark (Den), Finland (Fin), France (Fra), Germany (Ger), Greece (Gre), Hong Kong (HK), India (Ind), Indonesia (Indo), Ireland (Ire), Italy (Ita), Japan (Jpn), Korea (Kor), Malaysia (Mal), Netherlands (NL), New Zealand (NZ), Norway (Nor), Philippines (PH), Poland (Pol), Portugal (Por), Russia (Rus), Singapore (SG), South Africa (SA), Spain (Spa), Sweden (Swe), Switzerland (Swi), Taiwan (TW), Thailand (TH), Turkey (TR), United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Czech Republic (Cze), Hungary (Hun), Vietnam (Vnm) and the Baltics (Bal).
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns. To learn more, visit www.acnielsen.com.
Table 1 
Table 2
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