Consumer confidence in RI drops

Consumer confidence in RI drops

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A sluggish economy, the SARS outbreak and the Iraq war have
dampened consumer confidence in Indonesia, as well as in a dozen
other countries in the Asia Pacific, dampening hope for an
economic turnaround in 2003, according to an AC Nielsen Asia
Pacific Online Consumer Confidence Survey released on Thursday.

The survey shows only 16 percent of Indonesian respondents
expected an economic recovery this year. This made Indonesians
the second-most pessimistic consumers after the Japanese at 13
percent.

Some 7,800 consumers in 13 countries participated in the
survey, which was conducted in May.

The most optimistic consumers were in India, with 61 percent
saying the country's economy would rebound within a year.

Compared to a similar survey conducted in December, consumer
confidence dropped in all 13 countries taking part in the survey,
except Thailand, where it increased by 7 percent. Taiwan and
Singapore saw the deepest drop in consumer confidence at 15
percent.

Although not experiencing a significant drop from the last
survey, Indonesia's consumer confidence remains low, with 73
percent of respondents having major concerns about the country's
economy.

However, 89 percent of the 576 Indonesian respondents
interviewed via the Internet said they planned to buy "major
item" in the next six months, after deferring purchases and
saving money in the past six months.

The most popular item to be bought was mobile phones (49
percent of respondents). Some 26 percent planned to buy digital
cameras, 20 percent personal computers and 18 percent cars.

From the results of the survey, it seems that the Indonesian
respondents tended to save their money during the first semester
only to spend it during the second semester.

A profile of respondents was 75 percent male and 54 percent
aged between 25 to 34, with access to the Internet.

The survey also found that 85 percent of Australians and New
Zealanders interviewed were still reluctant to travel within Asia
due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak.