ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 0.9pts to 100.1 as Omicron variant recedes but floods and geopolitical troubles mount
ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 0.9pts to 100.1 during the first week of March. Consumer Confidence is a significant 11.8pts below the same week a year ago, March 6/7, 2021 (111.9) and is now just below the 2022 weekly average of 101.1.
Consumer Confidence has been unable to establish a consistent pattern this year with four weekly increases and four weekly decreases so far. The havoc caused by the Omicron strain, flooding in many parts of Queensland and NSW and also rising geopolitical tensions in Europe and worries about inflation have all played a part to influence consumer expectations in different weeks.
There were no consistent trends in the States this week with Consumer Confidence up slightly in Sydney, Queensland (as floods receded) and SA but down in Country NSW (which was hit by floods), Victoria and WA as restrictions were introduced in Perth to fight COVID-19.
Current financial conditions
- Now 27% (down 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to 31% (down 1ppt), that say their families are ‘worse off’ financially.
Future financial conditions
- Looking forward, 37% (up 3ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, compared to just 20% (down 1ppt) that expect to be ‘worse off’ financially.
Current economic conditions
- However, just 13% (down 1ppt), of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months compared to 27% (up 2ppts), that expect ‘bad times’.
Future economic conditions
- In the longer term, 17% (up 2ppts), of Australians are expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 18% (unchanged) expecting ‘bad times’.
Time to buy a major household item
- Buying intentions are virtually unchanged with 35% (unchanged) of Australians, saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items while 33% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.
ANZ Head of Australian Economics, David Plank, commented:
“Consumer confidence increased by 0.9% last week as the floods in southern Queensland and northern NSW receded, if only momentarily. This took it just above the neutral level but left it well below average. Confidence rose slightly in NSW by 0.6% and was up a sharp 7.2% in Queensland. The surge in Omicron cases in WA weighed confidence down 2.6%. Among the other states, confidence fell in Victoria (-2.6%), while it rose in SA (9.4%). Nationally, confidence has been hovering around the neutral level of 100 during the past seven weeks, not heading in the same direction for more than two weeks. Household inflation expectations fell by 0.1ppt but remained elevated at 5.2% as petrol prices reach a new high.”
Related Research Reports
The latest Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Monthly Report is available on the Roy Morgan Online Store. It provides demographic breakdowns for Age, Sex, State, Region (Capital Cities/ Country), Generations, Lifecycle, Socio-Economic Scale, Work Status, Occupation, Home Ownership, Voting Intention, Roy Morgan Value Segments and more
Consumer Confidence – Monthly Detailed Report in Australia.
Business Confidence – Monthly Detailed Report in Australia.
Consumer Banking Satisfaction - Monthly Report in Australia.
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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 |
