Confidence rebounds to pre-flood level
Thai Consumer Confidence Index rebounded 3 points from its previous year-low in the fourth quarter 2011 to a more optimistic 107 points in the first quarter of 2012; making Thailand the fifth most confident country in Asia Pacific.
Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index report showed that overall Thai consumer confidence index has shown recovery from its post-flood aftermath; rising by three points to 107 in the first quarter of 2012 as a staggering 60 per cent more Thais believed the business condition in the areas they live in were doing well.
“Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Index indicates that Thais are clearly rebounding back from the 2011’s quarter four dip, but also remain much more realistic towards the country’s economic situation,” commented Suresh Ramalingam, managing director of Nielsen Thailand. “Given many dramatic events that have transpired in the past few years, Thais have proven that they are generally optimistic and extremely resilient. However, the series of unfortunate events might also take its toll and have made Thais more and more skeptical towards the uncertainty of the future. Nevertheless, our findings clearly show that consumers in Thailand are seeing positive changes in both their own financial situation and the businesses around them. Their less optimistic outlook on recession does not necessarily mean Thais’ perception towards the future is bad, only more realistic since the road to recovery is never a short one.”
The top-three main concerns amongst the consumers remained the same as the previous quarter with the economy being on top of Thais’ mind (45 per cent), followed by job security (21 per cent), and debt (18 per cent). Interestingly, out of all Asia Pacific countries, Thais are the third most worried about debt, preceded only by Malaysians and New Zealanders.
Although half of Thais still believed this was not a good time to purchase things they desired, 22 per cent more Thais claimed to stop cutting their holiday budget to help save for the living cost. Moreover, although Thais’ monthly budget allocated to necessities such as housings, education, and medical remained similar to quarter four 2011, the budget allocated to non-necessity such as dining out and communications services have seen an increase of 30 per cent and 23 per cent respectively; making Thailand, along with India, the biggest spenders in the region for communications services expenses.
Similar to what was seen in the previous quarter, 6 out of 10 Thais claimed to put their spare cash into savings; while 3 out of 10 said they would spend the rest of their money on holidays or use it to pay off debts and loans. Around 6 per cent of consumers claimed not to have any spare cash left which was similar to a 2011 average of 7 percent.
“The study suggests that Thais are beginning to loosen their spending belts, and allowing themselves to indulge a little more after the hardship in the fourth quarter. The increased intent to purchase communications services is likely to continue to grow in the future, considering our previous findings about digital consumers’ trend in which the intent to purchase communications and IT devices is growing in almost all platforms. 4 out of 10 consumers are planning to buy at least one tablet computer by mid 2012, and 24 per cent claim they will get a broadband Internet connection at home.”
Globally, Asia Pacific remained the most optimistic market (103) with India taking the lead for the ninth consecutive quarter with a one-point consumer confidence increase to 123, followed by Saudi Arabia (119), Indonesia (118) and the Philippines (118). China’s consumer confidence increased two points to 110, reaching its highest level since the inception of Nielsen’s index in 2005. Despite an increase of one point, Europe remained the most pessimistic region (72); while Hungary was the world’s most pessimistic market at 32 points, followed by Greece (37) and Portugal (39).
