Urban Indian Consumer Sentiment Recovers by 3.1 Points in August 2023: Report

Urban Indian consumer sentiment has rebounded by 3.1 percentage points in August 2023, as reported by the Refinitiv-Ipsos India Primary Consumer Sentiment (‘Consumer Confidence’) Index (PCSI).

The monthly PCSI result, which is driven by the aggregation of the four weighted sub-indices, has surged for all 4 sub-indices: The PCSI Economic Expectations (“Expectations”) Sub-Index has moved up significantly by 6.0  percentage points; the PCSI Employment Confidence (“Jobs”) Sub- Index has jumped up by 4.9 percentage points; the PCSI Current Personal Financial Conditions (“Current Conditions”) Sub-Index is up 2.0 percentage points; and the PCSI Investment Climate (“Investment”) Sub-Index has moved up 1.6 percentage points. 

“Rebound around jobs and the economy has lifted consumer sentiment and brought some cheer in August, after a not-so-buoyant H1—January to July period. Though inflationary conditions continue with food prices heating up, or cooling off, non-food commodity prices have provided some relief. Confidence around day-to-day spending and discretionary spending is also seeing an upturn, perhaps in anticipation of the upcoming festival season. India has moved to the second spot in consumer sentiment across 29 markets.

This should make marketers happy, compelled to fast-track discounts in H1 due to depressed consumer sentiment in H1, to get rid of their piled-up stocks. One has to note that this consumer sentiment refers to urban India. Rural India's sentiment is likely to be affected more by food prices and export restrictions on certain food items. Since the pandemic, we have seen a K-shaped recovery, and this trend further adds to that,” said Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India. 

Since March 2023, Ipsos India has moved the survey from covering only netizens to include an expanded offline sample, using the Ipsos IndiaBus – 1800 offline sample + 400 online sample, covering 16 cities across the length and breadth of the country, scientifically chosen, from NCCS A, B & C. More representative of the urban population.

Ipsos IndiaBus is a monthly pan India omnibus (which also runs multiple client surveys), that uses a structured questionnaire and is conducted by Ipsos India on diverse topics among 2200+ respondents from SEC A, B and C households, covering adults of both genders from all four zones in the country. The survey is conducted in metros, tier1, tier 2 and tier 3 towns, providing a more robust and representative view of urban Indians. The respondents were polled face to face and online. We have city-level quota for each demographic segment that ensure the waves are identical and no additional sampling error. The data is weighted by demographics and city-class population to arrive at national average.

India has moved up to the 2nd spot in ranking, across the 29 markets polled.