Vietnamese consumers among the most optimistic in the world

The Vietnam Consumer Confidence Index has risen by nine points from the second quarter to reach an all-time high at 129 points in the third quarter of 2018, according to the Global Consumer Confidence Survey.

The survey results have been released by research association The Conference Board in collaboration with global market research company Nielsen.

The survey ranks the country in second place in the world in terms of consumer confidence, behind India at 130 points.

While most Asian economies are vulnerable to the ongoing trade dispute between China and the U.S., Vietnam is a possible exception, as it may attract parts of the global value chain that currently run through China, the report said.

The rise in the confidence index is also due to greater optimism about employment prospects, personal finances and the level of willingness to spend.

Eight out of ten Vietnamese surveyed said that they were positive about their job prospects, up nine percentage points from the second quarter.

Eighty-two percent of respondents expected their personal finances will be good or excellent over the next 12 months, up 6 percentage points from the second quarter.

The majority of them, 63 percent, said that the next 12 months are a good time for them to buy the things that they want and need, 8 percentage points higher than the second quarter.

Concerns about having a stable job and health (both at 40 percent) remained the top concerns among Vietnamese consumers. The national economy came in third at 27 percent, 5 percentage points higher than the previous quarter.

Vietnamese consumers continue to take the lead globally when it comes to saving, the survey found. Seventy-two percent of respondents said that they would save their spare cash, up two percent from the second quarter.

But Vietnamese people are also more willing to spend on big-ticket items. The percentage of people who would spend their spare cash on home improvements increased 10 percent from the second quarter to 48 percent.

Over half of them, 53 percent, want to spend the money on new clothes, up 7 percentage points from the second quarter.

Nguyen Huong Quynh, managing director of Nielsen Vietnam, said that when consumers faced multiple concerns, their purchasing decisions will be affected and businesses should always keep a close track on changes in the spending habits of consumers.