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Confidence Down Down Under
Australian consumers are significantly less confident than they were a year ago, according to the latest survey from polling firm Roy Morgan. The main driver of the decrease is pessimism about personal finances with 30% (up 6%) saying they are now worse off than they were last year.
The overall confidence rating has fallen to 116.8, two points lower than in June, and 12.1 points below last July's rating. However, it remains relatively high compared with the July average for the last 32 years (104.1), and the proportion of people saying it is a good time to buy major household items rose in July. Roy Morgan believes this figure is likely to be influenced by stocktaking discounts and sales, as it also rose this time last year. The company states that the overall trend is downwards, and believes that consumer demand has peaked.
Optimism about the economy's future remains unchanged, with much uncertainty on this front. The proportion of Australians expecting good economic times over the next five years remained unchanged at 30%, while the proportion of those expecting bad economic times fell 1% to 22%. Meanwhile, 35% (unchanged) expect Australia to experience good economic conditions over the coming year, with 27% (up 2%) expecting bad economic times over the same period. On a personal level, 41% (unchanged) of Australians expect to be better off financially this time next year, while 20% (up 4%) expect to be worse off.
The Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating is based on 1,038 face-to-face interviews conducted across Australia. The rating is 100 plus the simple unweighted average of the difference between the percentage of respondents who give a favourable and those who give unfavourable answers to five key questions.
The company's web site is at www.roymorgan.com
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