Happy shoppers: Customers line up to pay for goods at a Hypermart store in Central Jakarta. A survey from global marketing research firm Nielsen suggests that Indonesian consumer confidence rose by two points to 119 in this year’s second quarter, trailing behind only the Philippines at 132 and India at 128. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)

Indonesians remain the third-most confident consumers in the world, behind those in India and the Philippines, a recent survey has revealed.

Sari Monik Agustin, 39, is certainly happy. The owner of ra’djoet online shop said that business had been good lately. Compared to 18 months ago when she first started the shop, Monik said she had seen satisfying results and her customer base had grown.

Her experience mirrors the latest findings in global marketing research firm Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Survey. According to the findings, Indonesian consumers remain the third-most confident in the world, only behind those in the Philippines and India.

The Indonesian consumer confidence index rose by two points to 119 in the second quarter. The Philippines overtook India to be number one as its index climbed to 132 from 119. India fell to second position as its index slipped to 128 from 134.

The survey shows Indonesian consumer confidence rose from an all-time low of 115 in the last quarter of 2015. Furthermore, only 51 percent of Indonesian consumers believed that the country was in recession, a 7 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.

The results come at a crucial time when economic growth reached its lowest level in six years at 4.79
percent in the first quarter, with half of the growth traditionally driven by consumer spending.

“Indonesian consumers have slowly been regaining confidence in the past three quarters and this is a good indication for industry players,” Nielsen Indonesia managing director Agus Nurudin said on Thursday. He added it was time for industry players to take advantage of consumers’ growing confidence.

Several indicators are actually already demonstrating this rising confidence. Retail sales increased in the first half of the year, with car sales climbing 11.4 percent annually in June, according to the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo).

Unilever Indonesia — a major player in the retail sector — saw its net sales rise 10.3 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 20.74 trillion (US$1.58 billion), driven by home and personal care and food and refreshments sales. At the end of the period, its net profits had surged 12.5 percent yoy to Rp 3.3 trillion.

The Nielsen survey, which questioned 30,000 online consumers in 63 countries worldwide, found that Indonesian spending habits had changed slightly from the previous quarter.

The number of Indonesians who opted to save any extra funds accounted for 70 percent of the total, 5 percent lower than the first quarter.

The remaining 43 percent of respondents said they would use any spare funds for vacations. Purchasing new clothes was also more of a priority for them. Meanwhile, the number of consumers who chose to use their funds to invest in stocks and mutual funds remained steady at 32 percent.

The shift in spending was mainly among consumers living in urban areas, who were now looking to increase spending on secondary needs as they have already fulfilled their basic needs, the results show. Agus said the national tourism industry should take advantage of the opportunity to attract new tourists.

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