Indian consumers most positive about a sharp economic rebound, says IBM study

India has one of the highest levels of optimism about economic recovery compared to other countries. Nearly 39% of Indian consumers believe that the economy will slowly recover over the next few months followed by a sharp rebound returning to pre-COVID levels by the end of 2020, a new study by IBM has shown.

According to the study that involved more than 14,500 participants from Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom, including 3,000 consumers from India, while 39% Indians remain optimistic about economic rebound, only 32% people around the globe remain optimistic about the future.

The report also said that nearly 70% of Indians are concerned about a second wave of Covid-19 hitting later in 2020 and that an overwhelming majority in all countries indicate that they will see more pandemic events like this in the future.

The survey also showed that while remote work continues to be an attractive option for most, the appeal may be fading for some. 33% of Indian consumers prefer to continue to work remotely, exclusively, while 45% Indian consumers state that their mental health is influencing their preference for their future working environment. A majority of respondents in all countries indicated they would like to have remote working options at least occasionally.

The report had other interesting insights as well. As per the study, nearly 43% of respondents indicate the need to improve productivity and time savings is influencing their future working environment preference. Also, 72% state that the Covid-19 pandemic has made them more concerned about the security of their job while 73% said that the response actions taken by their employer to the Covid-19 pandemic were reasonable and appropriate.

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In addition to that, the report said that nearly 37% of respondents said that they plan to use public transportation less, while 26% of respondents said they plan to use their personal vehicles exclusively.

As far as the personal perspective is concerned, nearly 31% of participants said that they consider at least one member of their household to be high-risk for contracting Covid-19, while 66% of respondents stated the pandemic is taking a toll on the mental health of one or more of their family members. And nearly 82% state that the pandemic has made them more concerned about the health and safety of themselves and their family.