ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down slightly by 0.6pts to 85.0 in late August as buying intentions worsen
ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was down slightly by 0.6pts to 85.0 this week and is now 16.8pts below the same week a year ago, August 28/29, 2021 (101.8). In addition, Consumer Confidence is now 6.3pts below the 2022 weekly average of 91.3.
There were mixed results across the index this week with no clear trend among the five different indicators with three improving slightly and two declining. Notably, buying intentions are now at their lowest for over two years since early April 2020. On a State-by-State basis there were three mainland States that were down and two that increased from a week ago.
Current financial conditions
- Now 23% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to 41% (down 1ppt), that say their families are ‘worse off’ financially.
Future financial conditions
- Looking forward, fewer than a third of Australians, 32% (unchanged), expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year compared to 31% (up 1ppt), that expect to be ‘worse off’.
Current economic conditions
- Only 8% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months compared to 32% (down 2ppts), that expect ‘bad times.’
Future economic conditions
- In the longer term, just 13% (unchanged) of Australians are expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 18% (down 2ppts) expecting ‘bad times.’
Time to buy a major household item
- When it comes to buying intentions now just 20% (down 2ppts) of Australians, say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items (the lowest figure for this indicator for over two years since the early stages of the pandemic in April 2020) while 49% (up 3ppts), say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.
ANZ Head of Australian Economics, David Plank, commented:
Consumer confidence was almost unchanged with a slight drop of 0.7% last week. But there was quite a mix in the detail. There was a sharp fall in the sub-index that captures whether it is a ‘good time to buy a major household item’, and a moderate drop in the ‘future financial conditions’ sub-index. In contrast, ‘current financial conditions’ and sentiment about current and future economic conditions all rose. Lower inflation expectations may have helped sentiment toward ‘current financial conditions’. All sentiment sub-indices remain weak, however, with only ‘future financial conditions’ in positive territory. Consumers are likely to stay cautious in outlook until there is better news about real wages. Though it is important to remember that this caution hasn’t actually been reflected in a pullback in spending – at least not yet.”
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 |
