KARACHI: Consumer confidence reached an all-time high increasing by nine points in July-September 2017, according to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions.

The survey data highlights a positive perception of job outlook, increasing from 47 per cent in the second quarter to 57pc in the third quarter.

The number of respondents optimistic about the state of their personal finances has gone up by two percentage points from the second quarter to 66pc, resultantly immediate-spending intentions has reached 49pc, compared to 46pc in the second quarter 2017.

“The nine-point upsurge in Pakistan’s consumer confidence score depicts an improving outlook for the country,” noted Quratulain Ibrahim, managing director, Nielsen Pakistan.

“Since Nielsen launched the survey, this has been the highest number reached to date. We can attribute the score to many different reasons, such as the growth of our agricultural sector, controlled inflation, strengthened power supply and most importantly the uplift in our job market. There has been an increase in large-scale manufacturing —notably the automotive industry. Pakistan is flourishing and is rated as one of the top growth markets in the Middle East and Africa region.”

Although there has been a one percentage point dip in job security being the biggest concern over the next six months, it still remains the top concern amongst 21pc of Pakistani consumers. Consumers are spending more on vacations and technology in Q3, suggesting they have more disposable cash.

Established in 2005, the Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index is fielded quarterly in 63 countries to measure the perceptions of local job prospects, personal finances, immediate spending intentions and related economic issues of real consumers around the world. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism, respectively.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2018