India slips to second slot in Q2 consumer confidence over job worries

Nielsen survey for June quarter flags job prospects and security

Consumer confidence in India declined in the second quarter of calendar year 2017 to levels that existed a year ago, amid concerns regarding job security and employment prospects, Nielsen said on Monday.

India’s consumer confidence index for Q2 2017 decreased by six points to 128 from a high of 136 from the  last survey (Q4 of 2016), the market research agency said in a statement. Data for Q1 of 2017 survey was not available. 

While Asian countries were high on consumer confidence in Q2, India slipped to the number two spot in the quarter under review, from the number one position it held over the past few months.

“Consumer confidence (in India) returned to year-ago levels, reflecting perceptions about local job prospects, personal finances, spending intention and related economic issues,” Nielsen South Asia President Prasun Basu said.

The survey for the second quarter was conducted between May 20 and June 10, 2017, Nielsen said. The findings were based on an online methodology in 63 countries.

Sentiment on local job prospects decreased by 8 percentage points to 76 per cent for Q2 2017, the survey said, adding that concerns over job security had increased to 20 per cent in the quarter under review, versus 17 per cent in the last polled survey in Q4 2016. 

With regard to spending and savings, 66 per cent urban Indians indicated it was a good time to buy things they wanted, down four percentage points from Q4 2016.

Around 52 per cent of the respondents indicated they would spend less on new clothes, 46 per cent would save on gas and electricity, 36 per cent would cut down on holidays. These were the focus areas for savings, said Nielsen.

Around 22 per cent of the respondents indicated switching to cheaper grocery brands in Q2 2017, against 18 per cent in Q4 2016, it added. “The drop in confidence is similar to a recently released trend by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India), where household perceptions have dipped on employment over the last four rounds of the study and on price levels in the recent period,” Basu said.

As per the survey, global consumer confidence showed improvement in Q2 2017, with an index score of 104, which was up three points from Q4 2016.

While Asian countries were high on consumer confidence in Q2, India slipped to the number two spot in the quarter under review versus the number one positions it held over the last few months.