Consumers cautious over spending

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR   NIELSEN  

Malaysia - Nearly 85% Malaysians surveyed by Nielsen said they tightened the purse strings to save on household income in the last quarter of 2011, with buying intentions over the next 12 months remaining constant.

In the latest global online consumer confidence survey conducted by Nielsen for Q4 2011, Malaysia's consumer confidence level remained unchanged.

The study which tracked consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among more than 28,000 consumers over the Internet in 56 countries tracked confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicating degrees of optimism and pessimism.

Malaysia hovered at an index of 101 in the last quarter, making it the tenth most confident country among 56 surveyed.

In terms of consumer concerns, the economy came first (23%) followed by job security (13%) and increasing food prices (10%). 

Buying intentions of consumers showed a marginal increase of 1% from Q3, however 56% of consumers said it is "not so good" and another 13% said it is a "bad time" to purchase things in the next 12 months.

In terms of what consumers have been cutting spends on, 58% of the respondents said clothes and 56% cited home entertainment.

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