Singapore - S'pore consumer confidence lowest in two years

According to the Nielsen Index, Singapore's consumer confidence has dropped to its lowest in two years, to 94 points, in the third quarter of this year. This is even lower than the previous low, which was 96, in the third quarter of 2009.

Nielsen said in the Asia Pacific, Singapore has now dropped out of the top 10 list of most confident countries. It was in 9th position in Q2 2011.

For the survey, Singaporeans were asked to rank their top concerns. The top three were the economy (27 per cent), job security (20 per cent) and increasing food prices (10 per cent).

One interesting change in the recent survey is the shift in priorities among Singaporeans. While 17 per cent listed a good work-life balance as their top concern in last quarter's index, a striking 27 per cent now say the economy has become their biggest concern.

Grace Liu, head of consumer research at The Nielsen Company, said: "There has been no let up in terms of bad news after bad news that's happening in North America, the Eurozone, coupled with more recent regional natural disasters.

"I think this does not paint a very optimistic picture for the Singapore consumer, who is looking outwards for signs of hope and signs of greater certainty ahead."

And with uncertainty looming, 24 per cent of Singaporeans think the country is in an economic recession, while 39 per cent also do not think that Singapore will be out of an economic recession in the next year.

47 per cent of Singaporeans also feel pessimistic about future job prospects, compared to 23 per cent in the second quarter. 47 per cent of consumers in Singapore are also not optimistic about the state of their personal finances.

But it is not all doom and gloom.

Ms Liu said: "You'll be surprised that Singaporeans are not willing to give up on their holidays and vacations. That's the second most frequently cited expenditure item for spare cash. So in this regard, the travel operators would still stand to yield from this spend, and this is perhaps the industry to watch.

"Following this, financial services is also another industry we can watch because people are keen to park their excess funds in either equities or in wealth management products, so there is a lot of opportunity for banks in the country."

46 per cent of respondents still said that cutting down on holidays is one of the top five ways to save. With a gloomy economic outlook, Singaporeans are also hoping to stretch their dollar by spending less on new clothes (61 per cent), out of home entertainment (54 per cent), and utilities (46 per cent), and also by switching to cheaper grocery brands (48 per cent).

-CNA/ac


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