14 May 2009
Kuala Lumpur

Consumer confidence in Malaysia has plummeted to a record new low in the past six months, falling a further seven Index points from 88 to 81, according to the latest twice-yearly Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index which tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending habits among 25,140 internet users in 50 countries. This is Malaysia’s fifth consecutive decline from its high point of 114 recorded in late 2006.  (Chart 1)

Chart 1

Written by Emily Tan    

In contrast to global trends, Malaysians are not giving up newspapers for the Internet. Research based on data sourced from the Nielsen Media Index from 2006 to 2008 shows that newspaper consumption levels held steady throughout 2008 despite the rise in Internet consumption.

While the average time a Malaysian spends online has increased by 24% from three hours a day in 2006 to three hours and 46 minutes a day in 2008, the average time spent reading a newspaper has held steady at 49 minutes in the same time span. “There is no sign that Malaysians are shifting from newspapers to the Internet,” said the report published in PHD’s August newsletter — “PHD Pioneering”. PHD is a media service agency under the Omnicom Media Group.