Global Consumer Confidence Rises In Q3, India Remains Most Bullish: Nielsen

Consumer confidence in India remained the most bullish in the third quarter and improved globally, according to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions. In the US, the consumer confidence jumped in the third quarter.

The survey further revealed that people were more optimistic about job prospects than their personal finances. However, in North America and Europe that had been replaced by rising worries about war and terrorism.

Out of the 60 nations surveyed by Nielsen, Italian consumer confidence fell in October to its lowest level since February, as household sentiment on most issues declined as the country heads towards a third year of recession.

Apart from Italy, other European countries also made showcased pessimistic consumer confidence, clearly reflecting the conflict in Ukraine, faltering growth and the risk of deflation in the euro zone. However, Britain and Germany saw consumer confidence improve.

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index rose 1 point in the third quarter to 98, according to the survey, conducted between August13-September 5. The index has been steadily rising since the first quarter of 2012 and the latest reading headed closer to the 100 mark that signals optimism among consumers.

The US consumers were the seventh most upbeat globally, with their score rising 4 points to 108 as optimism about job prospects continued to surge. Americans were also slightly more upbeat about the outlook for their personal finances than they were in the second quarter.

Louise Keely, a senior vice-president at Nielsen, “The US consumers are now feeling far more confident than in previous years of the recovery due to consistently good job market trends, reflected in steady payroll growth and falling unemployment over the course of 2014 [sic].”

“They are also benefiting from lower gasoline prices and a gradually improving housing market. In the coming months, as we start to see more people re-entering the workforce and meaningful wage growth, this is likely to translate into broad-based gains in consumer spending," she added.

Australia saw the biggest increase in confidence from the previous quarter, by 12 points, followed by Slovenia with a 9-point increase and Thailand with 8 points. However, Chile posted the sharpest drop in confidence, by 7 points, followed by the Philippines with a 5-point decline and 4-point decreases for Italy and Ukraine.

The Nielsen survey was conducted online and covered more than 30,000 consumers across 60 markets.
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