Consumer confidence among urban Indians recovered in September after declining in August, with the national consumer confidence score rising 1.6 % points to 66.9, according to the September 2026 Ipsos Global Consumer Confidence Index.
The latest reading brings India's consumer confidence closer to its July level of 67.1 and makes the country the highest-ranked market among the 30 countries surveyed. India and Sweden, at 60.0, were the only markets with a National Index score of 60 or above.
The September recovery was supported by improvements across three of the four underlying sub-indices. The Employment sub-index recorded the sharpest increase, rising 3.7 percentage points, while Current Personal Financial Conditions climbed 2.3 points. The Investment sub-index also increased by 1.7 points.
The Economic Expectations sub-index was the only indicator to decline, edging down 0.3 percentage points, indicating that while consumers were more confident about their personal financial and employment situations, expectations around the broader economy remained relatively cautious.
The rebound follows a weaker August, when India's consumer sentiment declined across all four sub-indices. The Current Conditions Index fell 1.8 points, Economic Expectations declined 1.1 points, the Investment Index dropped 1.6 points and the Employment Index fell 3.1 points.
Globally, consumer confidence remained unchanged at 48.4 in September, marking the first month of stability since February and keeping the index at the same level as a year earlier.
Sentiment across Europe was largely stable during the month. Sweden recorded a 3.5-point increase and the Netherlands rose 2.8 points, while no European market registered a significant decline. Consumer confidence was also broadly stable across Asia-Pacific, with Malaysia recording the only significant movement, declining 2.8 points.
Among the 30 markets surveyed, 12 other countries recorded National Index scores of 50 or above. These included Malaysia (54.8), Singapore (54.3), Thailand (53.1), Indonesia (52.9), Peru (52.6), the Netherlands (52.5), Brazil (52.2), Colombia (51.7), Mexico (50.8), the US (50.5), South Africa (50.3) and Israel (50.1).
Three markets recorded scores below 40: Japan (39.4), Argentina (37.8) and Türkiye (35.3).
Commenting on the findings, Suresh Ramalingam, CEO, Ipsos India, said the September rebound indicated that the weakness seen in August was temporary rather than structural. He attributed the resilience in consumer sentiment to factors including economic growth, relative price stability, infrastructure development and policy continuity.
“The fact that India remains the highest-ranked market globally on consumer confidence underscores the extent to which households continue to view the domestic economy as resilient despite ongoing global volatility,” Ramalingam said.
He added that India's focus on energy diversification, including renewable power, electric mobility and alternative fuels, could help reduce vulnerability to external energy shocks and support consumer confidence amid global uncertainty.
Ramalingam said the improvement in employment prospects, personal finances and investment intentions could also support future consumption activity, although consumers remained measured in their expectations for the broader economy.
The September survey was conducted between August 21 and September 4, 2026, among more than 21,000 adults across 30 countries through Ipsos' Global Advisor online platform. The India sample is more urban, educated and affluent than the country's general population, and the findings therefore reflect the views of the more “connected” segment of the population.
For individual countries, Ipsos considers movements of +/-2.0 percentage points significant, while the threshold for the global index is +/-0.5 point.
