Indian consumers are concerned over their job security, as many have deferred purchases and do not anticipate better economic conditions to appear until the first quarter of 2004, according to the ACNielsen Asia Pacific consumer confidence poll.
"A meagre 31 per cent of consumers anticipate a recovery before the close of the year, a sharp drop compared to the last survey conducted in December 2002, when about 88 per cent had expected a recovery," an ACNielsen ORG-MARG release said in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The stubborn economy, doubts over the quantum and dispersion of rainfall this year and the SARS scare have come together to cause a pull-back in the consumer sentiment," ACNielsen research director Sarang Panchal was quoted as saying.
Most consumers, especially in the higher income bracket, have deferred the expenditure on property, stocks and DVD players with the hope of better bargains in the next six months.
Items of conspicuous consumption like cars, mobile phones and laptops have received greater purchase attention compared to the previous round, it said.
The concerns of job security were more pronounced among the younger lot, while broader concerns like the worsening of economy dominated uniformly across all age groups, the release said.
The Indians are one of the most concerned about their health (22 per cent) amongst the Asia Pacific countries, and close to 60 per cent admitted to a change in their behaviour due to the SARS episode, the research agency said.
ACNeilsen said the majority of Indian consumers (61 per cent) covered by the poll hoped that the economic recovery would occur in the first quarter of 2004.
This was much higher than the regional average for the countries across the Asia Pacific region, which stands at 40 per cent, it said.
The items of expenditure for Indians appear to be investments such as mobile phones (42 per cent), real estates (26 per cent) and equities (26 per cent), it added.