Singapore's consumer confidence nears all-time high in Q2 : Nielsen

Singapore's consumer confidence in the second quarter of 2010 posted a solid five point gain to 112, reaching the all-time high of 114 index points observed in the third quarter of 2007.

The study also revealed that consumers in Singapore are among the top 10 most confident in the world. It also stated that six out of the top 10 most optimistic nations in Q2 were from Asia with only 17 per cent of Singaporean consumers who feel the country is out of an economic recession, down from 28 per cent last quarter.

India (129 index points), Indonesia and Vietnam (both 119 index points) were the most optimistic nations in Q2. Vietnam recorded the highest consumer confidence increase in Q2 soaring 18 index points to 119.

Contrasting the consumer confidence in Asia, the global consumer confidence cautiously edged up only one index point to 93 in Q2, offset by Europe's escalating debt crisis, particularly in Spain, Italy and France.

"During the recession, the government took swift steps to prevent the economy from worsening. Personal, property and corporate tax rebates, measures to save jobs and retrain workers were some of the actions taken to avert an even sharper downturn. With the upcoming Youth Olympics, the number of visitors coming into the island-state will also help to boost consumer optimism and spending," said Joan Koh, managing director for Singapore at The Nielsen Company.

Job prospects are looking brighter this quarter. Among its Asia Pacific counterparts, Singaporeans are the second most optimistic group in terms of job prospects over the next 12 months after India, with 83 per cent indicating they feel positive about employment prospects.

In terms of personal finances, 68 per cent of consumers say that it is in an excellent/ good state, and one in two (45 per cent) feel that now is the right time to buy things. However, it seems that Singaporeans are diligent when it comes to savings. Seventy per cent will put aside spare cash into savings after they have covered essential living expenses. Other items include spending on holidays/ vacations (53 per cent), investing in shares of stocks/ mutual funds (33 per cent), paying off debts/ credit cards/ loans (32 per cent), and buying new clothes (32 per cent).

Work-life balance and the economy are still the top two concerns of the average Singapore consumer. According to the International Labour Organisation's Global Wage Report Update 2009, the average Singaporean work the longest hours.

"Consumers continue to be concerned about how the recovery of the overall economy will pan out as the economy has just begun to stabilise. It is however heartening to note that economists are forecasting that the fastest growing economies will be in Asia, led by Singapore, following the announcement by the Ministry of Trade and Industry that the Singapore economy is set to grow by 13 per cent to 15 per cent this year," noted Koh. 

Nielsen's Global Consumer Confidence Index was conducted after surveying 27,000 internet users in 48 countries. The latest round of the survey was conducted between 10 and 26 May 2010.