Consumer confidence plunges by 2.9 percentage points in June amid high cost of living, dismal performance of economy

The India Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (consumer confidence) has fallen by 2.9 percentage points in June 2019, as consumers are reeling under high cost of living and feeling strapped for funds for daily spends and investments, also due to the dismal performance of the economy. [caption id=“attachment_1994773” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative Image: Reuters[/caption] The monthly Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI) result, which is driven by the aggregation of the four, weighted, sub-indices, is showing a dip in 3 of the 4 sub-indices: while the PCSI employment confidence (jobs) sub-index has bounced back after last month’s slump, and is up by 2.0 percentage points; the PCSI economic expectations (expectations) sub-index, has fallen by 0.8 percentage points; the PCSI investment climate (investment) sub-index has dropped by a significant 5.8 percentage points; and the PCSI current personal financial conditions (current conditions) sub-index has plunged by 6.3 percentage points over last month, said a Thomson Reuters-Ipsos report. There is an evident pessimism towards daily spends and investment, the report said. “Mood is visibly downbeat among consumers. So, while sentiment towards jobs has shown recovery, it has majorly slumped for spends, savings and investments; also, to some extent there is less confidence towards the performance of the economy,” says Parijat Chakraborty, country service line leader, Ipsos Public Affairs, Corporate Reputation and Customer Experience. These are the findings of an online poll conducted between 24 May and 7 June 7, 2019. For this survey, a sample of 500 adults from Ipsos’ India online panel aged 16-64 was interviewed online. The poll may not be reflective of the general population, it said. However, “if the more urban, educated and those who have more income than their fellow citizens and often referred to as “Upper Deck Consumer Citizens” or Primary Consumers,” have dipping confidence, the situation could be even worse in the rural segment which was the key contributor in the slowdown.