The consumer confidence index in Vietnam increased six points against last quarter, according to Nielsen’s consumer confidence index report for the first quarter of 2015 released on May 20.
Vietnam’s consumer confidence index rose from 106 to 112 points. It is the third consecutive increase and the country’s highest score since 2010, making Vietnam the sixth optimistic nation in the world.
The report showed the continued trend of changing spending habits towards saving more money among Vietnamese consumers, with 86 percent of the interviewees saying they did so during the past 12 months.
More than half (56 percent) of the interviewees cited the reason for the cut in spending as they believed the country is in an economic recession at the moment. More than 60 percent said they cut spending on new clothes and tried to economise on electricity and gas use, and 57 percent skimped on entertainment.
Vietnamese consumers tend to save most in the world with 78 percent putting their spare money into savings, the report said. However, 44 percent are still ready to pay for travel and holiday and 40 percent are willing to spend on hi-tech gadgets.
Health is the biggest concern for Vietnamese, instead of the state of the economy or the job security, according to the report. One in every five is worried about their health in the next six months, while 15 percent of the interviewees are concerned about the economy and 16 percent are anxious about their job security.
The quarterly report showed consumers in Southeast Asian are the most optimistic with three out of five countries with the highest scores coming from the region, which are Indonesia with 123 points, the Philippines with 115 points and Thailand with 114 points.
