BackConsumer confidence for the month of October drops: Thomson Reuters-Ipsos survey
Pessimism is rife across jobs, finances, India’s economy and personal investments: IpsosIndian households have been in a wait and watch mode as a dip in consumer sentiment has dragged down sales of everything from four wheelers to soaps
PremiumNew Delhi: Consumer confidence in the month of October fell by 3.5 percentage points declining for the fourth straight month as pessimism around jobs, and personal investments continued to bother Indian households right in the thick of India’s annual festive season, according to the findings of the India Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI), as measured by Thomson Reuters along with Ipsos.
Pessimism is rife across jobs, finances, India’s economy and personal investments, Ipsos said in its monthly consumer confidence survey on October 25, two days ahead of Diwali. Ipsos surveyed 500 respondents aged 16-64 online between September 20, 2019–October 4, 2019.
“Confidence of urban Indians has further dwindled, bang in the middle of the festival season," Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India & Operations Director Asia Pacific, Ipsos said in a press statement on Friday. “Global slowdown is impacting most economies including India. These are worrying signs and government should take steps to arrest this," Adarkar said.
The monthly PCSI records consumer attitudes on the current and future state of local economies, personal finance situations, savings and confidence to make large investments. The index is composed of four sub-indices: current conditions index; expectations index; investment index; and, jobs index. For the month of October, all four sub-indices reported a dip. The monthly PCSI which is driven by the aggregation of the four weighted sub-indices, has slumped across all four of them
The sharpest drop was seen in the jobs sub-index that fell by 5.0 percentage points; followed by the economic expectations index that dropped by 4.3 percentage points. The PCSI investment climate or investment sub-index was down by 2.1 percentage points; while the PCSI current personal financial conditions or current conditions sub-index has declined by 3.0.
Indian households have been in a wait and watch mode as a dip in consumer sentiment has dragged down sales of everything from four wheelers to soaps. Retailers and brands are hoping that an uptick in festive demand could help reverse this trend.
“This Diwali could be a critical milestone in affecting consumer sentiment. If festival sales don’t keep up to expectations, we maybe set for further downside," added Adarkar.
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