Consumer confidence remains strong in Q2: survey

Chinese consumer confidence remains strong, despite rising downward economic pressure and growing external uncertainties, as a quarterly survey by global measurement and data analytics company Nielsen indicates unchanged consumer confidence.

The China Consumption Trend Index (CTI) remained at a high level of 115 points in the second quarter, unchanged from the first quarter, even as GDP growth for the second quarter slowed to 6.2 percent from the first quarter’s 6.4 percent.

Nielsen’s CTI index measures respondents’ perceptions of job prospects, personal finance and willingness to make purchases.

The baseline is 100, with readings above that level indicating optimism and those below indicating pessimism.

All three components of the CTI stayed in a stable range in the second quarter, with job prospects down two points to 77 points and willingness to spend remaining flat at 61 points, compared with the first quarter.

Notably, the personal finance index climbed one point from 70 points from the first quarter, in part boosted by the government’s efforts to implement further cuts in taxes and fees, both for the corporate and household sectors.

Positive trends in consumption were shored up by three short holidays in the second quarter, which contributed much to overall consumption, according to the survey.

A trend increasingly evident in the quarter was that national pride drove consumers toward domestic brands, with Nielsen data showing that 34 percent of consumers were more willing to support and buy local brands.

“Potential rising inflation levels could play into the hands of local brands as consumers putting more emphasis on value of the products foremost,” Justin Sargent, president of Nielsen China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Consumer holidays and new forms of business also helped.