Signals

Asia-Pacific – According to a new report from McKinsey & Co, while consumer sentiment across Asia-Pacific remains stable but selective, India is emerging as a clear outlier on spending intent.  

While most major markets are tempering discretionary purchases, Indian consumers closed 2025 with strong intent to spend, underpinned by robust GDP growth and low unemployment. Gen Z and Millennial Indian consumers continue to drive demand in categories such as technology, leisure and personal care, and 75% of consumers reported feeling confident in their country’s economic condition in the last quarter of 2025. 

Elsewhere, confidence is slowly improving. South Korea has seen the region’s sharpest rebound in net sentiment, the gap between optimism and pessimism, which has risen 36 percentage points since Q4 2024, although discretionary spending remains cautious overall. In China, inflation concerns have eased by eight percentage points year on year, but discretionary intent remains negative, with Gen Z splurge behaviour down 14 points. Australia’s outlook is similarly cautious, while Japan’s optimism has risen to a post-pandemic high of 16%, even as spending intent lags behind. 

These results echo insights from our India’s Me-First Generation report, which explored how little treat culture (spending on non-essentials such as drinks or beauty products) is driving spending among India’s youth population, reflecting a ‘me-first’ pragmatism.