Demonetisation doesn’t seem to have impacted much the confidence of Indian consumers, as for the second quarter in a row, India's consumer confidence index remained high, topping the global list of countries on the same parameter. Data released by the market research agency Nielsen showed that India's consumer confidence index for the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2016 was 136, three points higher as compared to what it achieved in the third quarter of 2016.
Nielsen, felt confident about spending in the fourth quarter, with 70 per cent in urban areas saying this was the best time to buy what they want and need over the next 12 month, though there were concerns articulated by them as well. A prominent one was job security, with 17 per cent saying they felt insecure about their jobs. Some 16 per cent surveyed also said that state of the economy was a worrying factor and another 14 per cent were concerned about terrorism. 65 per cent Indians choose to save spare cash, while 54 per cent said they would buy new technology products and 53 per cent said they would go on a vacation. 78% of respondents indicated a change in spending to save on household expenses, five points lower than last quarter (83% in Q3 2016).
Some of the other countries figuring prominently on the index this quarter were the Philippines and the US at number two and three respectively. Confidence in the Asia-Pacific region in the December quarter stood at 111 points, up two points from the previous quarter.The Consumer Confidence Index is fielded quarterly in 63 countries, including India, to measure the perceptions of local job prospects, personal finances, immediate spending intentions and related economic issues of online consumers around the world. Over 30,000 online respondents from 63 countries were polled as part of the survey.