Malaysia ranks 28th globally in consumer confidence

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian consumer confidence gained momentum in the second quarter (Q2), climbing eight spots to make the country the 28th most confident globally, according to a Nielsen poll spanning 63 countries.

The latest Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions found that Malaysian consumer confidence, whose index score hovered at the 78-80 level in the preceding three quarters, shot up eight points to 87 in Q2.

This was slightly lower than the score of 89 achieved a year ago, which was itself a far cry from the years 2010 to 2013 when consumer confidence in the country had consistently stayed above the 100 mark.

Nielsen Malaysia country manager Richard Hall said: “Malaysia has weathered the currency devaluation and moved past the first year of the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) without the economy going into any significant downturn.

“Thus the nation’s consumer confidence outlook is returning, with most Malaysians believing that the economy was more resilient than a year ago.”

While the economy and job security remain the top two key concerns among Malaysian consumers (at 45% and 25% respectively), more than a third of Malaysian consumers are also feeling positive about the local job prospects over the next 12 months (36% versus 27% in the prior quarter).

Nearly half also feel the same about their state of personal finances in the coming year (48% versus 40%) despite sluggish economic environments. 

“A year after the implementation of the GST, consumers have recovered spending in most essential food and non-food categories. Additionally, the Malaysia Government’s recent measures to reduce the mandatory 11% contribution in the retirement Employee Provident Fund (EPF) by 3% combined with a minimum-wage increase should contribute to more consumer spending power,” Hall noted.

In South-East Asia, consumers continued to remain confident in Q2, with four out of the six countries polled in the region scoring above 100.

The four are the Philippines (132 points, up 13 points from the first quarter), Indonesia (119, +2), Vietnam (107, -2) and Thailand (101 pp, -4). The first three countries made it to list of the the world’s top 10 most confident countries while Thailand settled for 12th place.

Singapore’s consumer confidence level held steady at 88 points, and the republic is ranked 25th overall.

The average global consumer confidence was 98, unchanged from the preceding quarter.

The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions -- conducted online -- measures consumer confidence, perceptions of local job prospects, major concerns and spending intentions among more than 30,000 respondents with Internet access in 63 countries. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism.

Within a country, period-to-period movements of seven points or more are considered statistically significant. 

South-East Asian consumers continue to lead globally when it comes to saving intentions.

Consumers in Vietnam are the world’s most avid savers (76%) followed by Indonesia (70%, 3rd), Philippines (65%, 6th), Malaysia and Singapore (63%, 8th, respectively) and Thailand (62%, 10th).

The global average of consumers depositing spare cash into savings was 52% (up 1% from the last quarter).