India tops global confidence index

But recessionary sentiment still strong, finds Nielsen 2015 report for December quarter

India topped Nielsen's global consumer confidence index for the fourth quarter in a row in 2015.

But the catch was that it continued to show signs of a recessionary sentiment for the third straight quarter.

Nielsen's report showed that India's consumer confidence index for the fourth quarter of 2015 was 131, ahead of the Philippines (117), Indonesia (115) and Thailand (114). But 50 per cent of the people polled said India was still in an economic recession, implying recessionary sentiment was strong.

While this was lower than the 54 per cent reported in the third quarter of 2015, it was equal to the figure reported in the second quarter and higher by six percentage points to the figure reported in the first quarter.

Nielsen said this was a sign of weakness due to external factors.

Nonetheless, most key global economies appeared to be pessimistic in the fourth quarter, pointing to depressed market conditions. China's confidence index for the fourth quarter, for instance, was 107, up one point only from the third quarter.

Countries such as the UK, the US, Germany and Japan showed quarter-on-quarter decline in confidence, indicating the consumer's state of mind.

UK's confidence index was 101, USA's 100, Germany's 98, and Japan's 79 for the quarter under review.

Nielsen said Indians remained the most optimistic in the world about job prospects and personal finances, with 80 per cent and 82 per cent respondents, respectively, saying they were confident of these attributes.

But job security and state of the economy were top concerns for Indians in the fourth quarter, Nielsen said.

On spending habits, 65 per cent of Indians said it was a good time for purchases, while 63 per cent said they would prefer to save money.

Seventy-nine per cent of the respondents said they had changed their spending habits to save on household expenses and 44 per cent said they would spend less on clothes.