Vietnam second most optimistic country amid pandemic: survey

With a consumer confidence index of 117 points, the country ranked behind only India at 123, the survey by market research company Nielsen found.

In the first quarter Vietnam had ranked fourth, but has since surpassed the Philippines and Indonesia. Its score has, however, declined by nine points amid the increasing global pessimism.

The global index fell 14 points to 92 in the same period, the largest quarterly decline since the index was first published in 2005.

The combination of deteriorating job prospects and rising anxieties about personal finances and spending readiness drove the decline in Vietnam’s consumer confidence this quarter, the survey said.

Louise Hawley, managing director of Nielsen Vietnam, said that consumer confidence is weaker overall due to the impact of the pandemic on people’s personal situation as well as their outlook going forward.

After one year during which health was the top concern of Vietnamese consumers, job security took this position in the second quarter. Some 7.8 million Vietnamese workers have lost their jobs or seen working hours reduced because of the pandemic, according to official figures.

"The pandemic had a longer-term impact on the economy and consumer uncertainty, which resulted in job instability and a hesitation to spend," Hawley said.

Vietnamese consumers remained the most avid savers globally in the second quarter with 72 percent of respondents saying they save their spare cash. It was followed by Hong Kong (68 percent) and Singapore (65 percent).

Spending on vacations and entertainment each fell 6 percent from the first quarter, as job cuts and uncertainty increased anxiety about reduced incomes and stressed household finances, Hawley said.

But spending on new technology products increased by 1 percentage point to 37 percent as people spent more time at home and bought gadgets to work and study online.