Economy tops Asian consumers' concerns

 

According to the latest global survey by GfK, two in every five surveyed are worried about recession and unemployment as well as inflation and high prices, and at the same time, one in three said they are concerned about having enough money to live right and pay the bills. 

While consumers in Singapore (65 per cent), Thailand (55 per cent), China (51 per cent) and Indonesia (39 per cent) expressed their greatest anxiety towards inflation, those in Taiwan (57 per cent), Korea (51 per cent) and Japan are mostly worried about recession and unemployment. Meanwhile, the topmost concern of half of the Australian respondents revolved around their personal finances. Crime and lawlessness also rank among the top four worries in the region, particularly in Malaysia (67 per cent), Vietnam (55 per cent) and India (51 per cent).

“Economic conditions have in most cases stabilized, but there is a significant level of uneasiness around various areas,” said Jodie Roberts, Regional Director for GfK Consumer Trends. “There are other areas which also registered significant levels of concern but only in specific countries, such as drug abuse in Thailand (55 per cent) and Indonesia (37 per cent), cost of healthcare in Singapore (42 per cent), and educational quality in China (33 per cent) and Indonesia (32 per cent).”