MUMBAI: It has taken a global study to confirm what has been suspected all along — the majority of Indians are willing to purchase what they desire and invest in mutual funds and shares way ahead of their Asian counterparts, according to the latest global online consumer confidence survey from ACNielsen, the world's leading marketing information provider.

In fact, for the coming year, India is clearly the most optimistic country in the world, according to the study. Indians have made a leap of faith and remain at the top of ACNielsen's global ranking, with a confidence index of 132 points — nine points ahead of the world's second most optimistic nation, New Zealand.

Retail boom

India is an exciting country for consumer markets and the country is witnessing a retail boom, with more and more consumers (66 per cent) excited about trying out new products and services. Apart from that, disposable incomes are venturing beyond traditional savings to investments in stock markets. About 44 per cent of Indians are willing to take the plunge into the continuously bullish market.

"The positive outlook towards the job market has empowered Indian consumers with more disposable income than they have had at any time in recent history, creating a new set of consumers whose eagerness to splash out is not limited to the festive seasons,'' according to Sarang Panchal, Executive Director, Customised Research Services, ACNielsen South Asia.

Job prospects

In terms of job prospects, the study found an overwhelming 92 per cent of Indians expecting job prospects to increase substantially and about 87 per cent think their personal finances will be in good shape. "The impact of outsourcing and the flourishing of the IT sector have opened up a lot of avenues for the Indian youth.'' Also, with increasingly competitive airline tickets, more and more Indians are opting for leisure vacations.

While the major concerns for Indians over the next 12 months are the economy and their health, this number has dropped from 37 per cent and 31 per cent to 22 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

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