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Consumer confidence drops to lowest point since financial crisis

Infographic_MICC H2 2014Consumer confidence in Australia has dropped to its lowest point since the financial crisis in 2009, according to a rolling survey by credit card firm MasterCard.

Australia is APAC’s gloomiest consumer market, according to the survey, with declines New Zealand also seeing a drop in confidence.

Ten out of 16 markets surveyed were either flat or showed declines in confidence, with the biggest tumbles in Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong, while the biggest rise in consumer confidence came in Bangladesh.

Myanmar, India and Indonesia remain Asia Pacific region’s most optimistic group of markets.

The overall decline comes after Asia recorded the highest consumer confidence score in more than a decade in the previous survey for the first half of 2014.

“The slight drop in Asia Pacific’s consumer confidence reflects an outlook of cautious optimism,” said Pierre Burret, head of delivery, quality and resource management for Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

“Consumers across the region are holding their breath for signs of sustained economic growth and opportunity. Emerging markets Myanmar, India and Indonesia are the most optimistic because of either positive anticipation for a brighter future or excitement around their respective newly-minted governments.”

By contrast, the developed markets of Northeast Asia, namely Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong were much less optimistic in their outlook, he added. “In these markets, the wanted signs of long-term growth and opportunity are blocked by Hong Kong’s recent political crisis and Japan’s weakening yen.”

MasterCard’s Index is based on a survey that ran between October and November last year involving 8,235 respondents aged 18 – 64 in 16 countries across the region. This is the 44th time the survey has run, dating back to 1993.

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