Roy Morgan Research
March 04, 2022

NZ Consumer Confidence down 16pts to a record low of 81.7 in February as COVID-19 cases increase rapidly

Topic: Consumer Confidence, Press Release
Finding No: 8918

New Zealand Consumer confidence was down 16pts to a record low of 81.7 in February.

  • The proportion of people who believe it is a good time to buy a major household item fell 17 points to -21.
  • Inflation expectations were little changed at 5.6%. House price inflation expectations eased from 5.3% to 4.8%.

Turning to the detail:

  • Perceptions of current personal financial situations fell 14 points to -18%.
  • A net 2% expect to be worse off this time next year, down 12. That’s the first time that series has ever been in the red.
  • Households think it’s a terrible time to buy a major household item (-21, down 17 points). This is the best retail spending indicator in the survey.
  • Perceptions regarding the next year’s economic outlook fell 21 points to -42%, not as low as when COVID first reached NZ. The five-year outlook fell 11 points to -8%.
  • House price inflation expectations eased 0.5%pts to 4.8% - unchanged in Auckland but lower everywhere else.
  • CPI inflation expectations eased 0.2%pts to 5.6%.

Households’ response to whether it was a good time to buy a major household item held up in the South Island but plummeted in the North. By age, older demographics held up better.

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Margin of Error

The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.

Sample Size Percentage Estimate
40% – 60% 25% or 75% 10% or 90% 5% or 95%
1,000 ±3.0 ±2.7 ±1.9 ±1.3
5,000 ±1.4 ±1.2 ±0.8 ±0.6
7,500 ±1.1 ±1.0 ±0.7 ±0.5
10,000 ±1.0 ±0.9 ±0.6 ±0.4
20,000 ±0.7 ±0.6 ±0.4 ±0.3
50,000 ±0.4 ±0.4 ±0.3 ±0.2

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