Philippine consumer confidence second highest in the world

MANILA — Confidence among Filipino consumers continue to be the highest in Southeast Asia and second in the world, edging up two points to a score of 119 in the first quarter of 2016, according to the latest Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions. The Nielsen consumer confidence index measures perceptions of local job prospects, personal finances and immediate spending intentions. Under three-quarters (72%) of Filipino respondents said local job prospects are good/excellent in the next 12 months, compared to the global average of 48%. Further, eight in 10 of Filipino respondents (81%) perceive their personal finances to be in good/excellent state over the next 12 months compared to 56% global average. More than half of Filipino respondents (52%) also believe that it’s a good time to buy. While consumers in the Philippines continue to give financial security top priority by channeling spare cash to savings (69%, +4 from Q4 2015) they have also indicated willingness to spend. Discretionary purchase intentions high on the priority list of consumers in the Philippines include spending on new clothes (32%, +2) holidays/vacations (32%,+5), home improvements (29%,+6), and technology products (26%, +1). Global consumer confidence remained stable in the first quarter and below the optimism baseline score of 100, edging up one index point to 98. The score reflected mixed confidence levels reported in every region, Nielsen’s “Q1 2016 Consumer Confidence Report” revealed. In the latest online survey, consumer confidence increased in 20 of 61 measured markets (33%), down from 26 measured markets (43%) showing an increase in the fourth quarter of 2015. In Europe, for example, confidence declined in 17 markets and rose in 11 in the first quarter, as both advanced and developing markets grappled with issues ranging from persistently high unemployment, to geopolitical tensions, such as the refugee crisis and the Brexit debate — a UK referendum in June to remain within or leave the European Union. Similar variances in consumer confidence scores were seen in Asia-Pacific, where confidence declined in eight markets and rose in five. In Africa/Middle East, confidence declined in four markets and increased in two, and in North America, confidence rose in the US but declined in Canada. In Latin America, confidence declined in six of seven measured markets.