India has ranked second in consumer confidence following Indonesia, according to the Nielsen global survey for the last quarter of 2013.
"India is at second place amongst countries measured in the survey. Indonesia, indexed at 124, leads the index globally," said the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions for Q4 2013.
The consumer confidence score for India in the fourth quarter was at 115 compared with 112 in the previous quarter.
As per the survey, 62% of online respondents indicated that India was going through an economic recession, down 14 percentage points from last quarter (76%).
Nielsen India President Piyush Mathur said: "The last quarter of 2013 sees optimism for consumers influenced by relative economic stability and a reduction in negative news across economic parameters."
However, continuing inflation and the upcoming elections may impact consumers in the first quarter of 2014, he added. "They are likely to tighten their purse strings now that the festival and holiday periods are over," said Mathur.
The survey, set up in 2005, measures consumer confidence, major concerns, and spending intentions among more than 30,000 respondents with Internet access in 60 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America.
In the latest round of the survey, conducted between November 11-29, consumer confidence increased in 43% of markets, compared to 57% in Q3 2013.
"Consumer confidence levels Investing spare cash in savings saw a four-point decline to 62% in Q4 from 66% in Q3, and buying technology products saw a decline from 47% (Q3) to 39% in Q4, while the purchase of new clothes came down by six percentage points, from 43% last quarter to 37% this quarter," the survey said.
In Q4, 76% of online respondents changed their spending to save on essentials, versus 80% last quarter. The steps include saving on gas and electricity (54%), spending less on new clothes (49%), and cutting down on holidays and short breaks (38%).
"Discretionary spending traditionally sees a spike in the third quarter of the year, largely owing to the festival, gifting and holiday season, and the following few months see a focused reduction in the utilisation of spare cash for the urban Indian consumer," said Mathur.
As per the survey, optimism over job prospects has increased by 7 percentage to 70 this quarter, from 63% last quarter. Job security is also the biggest concern for Indian online respondents, Nielsen survey said.
