The latest Danske Bank Consumer Confidence Index shows that confidence is slowly on the rise again despite a very rocky start to the year.
Danske Bank's quarterly Consumer Confidence Index has been tracking statistics on consumer purchasing sentiment for several years, and registered a massive fall in the first quarter of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Q2 2020 results are now out, and things are looking cautiously optimistic for the future.
Consumer confidence in Northern Ireland rose slightly in Q2 2020 according to the latest survey, which was conducted throughout June when lockdown restrictions were starting to ease across the region. Around 31% of those surveyed thought their finances had deteriorated over the past year, but 23% were optimistic that their financial situation would improve over the next year.
The threat of losing jobs was looming during this survey, with 17% of those surveyed expecting to become less secure in their job, but spending on large purchases was beginning again with 21% of people expecting to make a major purchase in the coming year. Overall the index rose from 119 points to 122, a slight increase indicating a slow return to normality but still far below the Q2 2019 index of 136.
Danske Bank's Chief Economist Conor Lambe commented on the statistics: "As the economy started to reopen, consumer confidence levels increased slightly in Northern Ireland. This modest increase in sentiment is welcome, but confidence levels were lower than they were in the second quarter of last year and so we must hope for further increases going forward to provide some momentum to what is likely to be a very gradual economic recovery."
Source: Written based on press release
