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Hong Kong, Nov 8, 2011 (ACN) - Hong Kong consumer confidence dropped three points in the third quarter of 2011 to 104 points, according to third quarter global online consumer confidence findings from Nielsen. At 104 points, the consumer confidence level was three points below its first quarter 2011 high of 107 points, and one point below confidence levels last year.
Asia Pacific, together with Latin America remained the world's most confident regions last quarter at 97 index points compared to a global average of 88 index points. Seven out of the top 10 most optimistic markets are from Asia. Within Asia Pacific, confidence fell in 10 out of 14 regional countries in the last quarter, with largest falls in Singapore and Malaysia (-9 points each).
According to the latest round of the survey, Hong Kong online consumers have a reduced optimism towards the outlook of job prospects (55%) and state of personal finances (59%) for the next 12 months, a respective drop of 11% and 8% from the beginning of the year, respectively. Nevertheless, while outlook for job prospects and state of personal finances have dropped significantly in the latest quarter, overall spending intent for the next 12 months has remained stable at 47%, mainly driven by the optimism in spending for consumers aged 40-49. Online Hong Kong consumers were the third most optimistic globally about spending intent in the last quarter.
For the third consecutive quarter, increasing food prices (41%) remained the top concern for Hong Kong online consumers while respondents’ concerns for job security increased by three points from 12 to 17% from a year ago.
Consumers surveyed were also concerned about the increasing utility bills. About 38% of respondents rated increasing utility bills as one of their top concerns, a 29% increase compared to 12 months ago. This is the first time ever that increasing utility bills have become a top five concern for Hong Kong consumers, according to Nielsen.
Globally, confidence in 31 of 56 global markets measured by Nielsen declined as global consumer confidence dropped one point to 88 due to the volatile and challenging global economy.
Topic: Press release summary
Sectors: Consumers
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From the Asia Corporate News Network
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