Asia-Pacific consumers confident, but cautious: Nielsen

Consumer confidence only fell one point from Asia-Pacific's second quarter score of 98, to 97 in the third quarter. The Middle East and Africa followed closely at 96 points, up two points from the previous quarter, while North America dropped two points to 79. Europe remained the most pessimistic region, remaining flat at 74 points. The global average dropped one point this quarter to 88.

While Asia-Pacific also leads in optimism, compared with the global average, in terms of job prospects, state of personal finances and intention to spend, the region isn't immune to the world's fears of  a second economic crisis. Consumers in the region are most concerned about the economy (30 per cent), work/life balance (27 per cent), increasing food prices (24 per cent) and job security (23 per cent). These concerns have grown from the previous quarter with worries about the economy and job security rising eight and seven percentage points respectively.

Furthermore, as many as half of Asia-Pacific consumers agree that they are now in recession, with Japanese consumers being the most pessimistic. Singaporeans are the most optimistic in this regard with nearly eight in 10 not believing the economy to be in recession.

With these concerns in mind, Asia-Pacific consumers are prudently reducing their discretionary spending on items such as holidays and new clothes, while increasing their spending on investment to expand their income and save more.

The region still boasts the largest percentage of savers with over 60 per cent planning on putting their spare cash into savings. One-in-three also plan to invest in stocks and mutual funds - almost
double the global average of 18 per cent.

To cope with their concerns over food inflation, Asia-Pacific consumers also tend to use more coupons (55 per cent), buy items during sales (55 per cent) and stock up on large value packs (44 per cent). As a result, they expect manufacturers to offer large economy sizes (38 per cent), new, smaller pack sizes (18 per cent) and reduce packaging size of products.

"With consumers today continuing to exercise more restraint over their wallets and purses when it comes to spending, the winners will be those retailers and manufacturers that are able to offer innovation and value to meet the needs of consumers".  Therese Glennon, managing director, consumer insights & Iinnovation - Nielsen Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa.