Against a plethora of good economic tailwinds, Irish consumers are becoming a little bit more upbeat, according to the latest Ipsos B&A Consumer Confidence Barometer.
The latest wave of the Ipsos B&A Consumer Confidence Barometer was conducted from the 9th-15th October 2024 and shows that consumer confidence has improved by five points in October 2024. It now stands at a net rating of -16 (those feeling downbeat versus those feeling more upbeat), compared to -21 in September.
Given the backdrop of positive economic indicators (falling inflation and interest rates, near-full employment, along with the Apple Windfall and an expansionary budget), it is unsurprising that more people are believing the country will be better off over the next year. Sentiment is at a level not seen since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and is driven by Dubliners.
Females, middle-aged cohorts or those from lower social classes, along with residents from outside the capital are the most pessimistic in their outlook, albeit they all register improvements. Dubliners are Net neutral for the first time in recent years.
Three in five expect to be able to continue (or increase) their saving behaviour over the next twelve months. However, there is still a sizeable proportion of the population that feel they will cut back on saving.
Mirroring this new-found positivity for some, our purchase intentions for the next 12 months have also seen an uplift- the gap between those who say they will spend less versus those who will spend more now stands at -18%, compared to -34% in September.
In terms of the Cost-of-Living, (69%) are now“coping”, and increase of four points since last month. In addition, the proportion of those who feel they are struggling has also dropped four point to 16%.
Over one in three (35%) feel that their income will increase over the next year, again driven by those living in Dublin. At a national level, this compared to just one in four (25%) expressing the same sentiment last month.
Survey results are based on a sample of 1,050 adults aged 16+, quota controlled in terms of age, gender, socio-economic class, and region to reflect the profile of the adult population of the Republic of Ireland. All interviewing was conducted via Ipsos B&A’s Acumen Online Barometer.
View the full report: https://banda.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Ipsos-BA-Consumer-Confidence-Barometer-October-2024-Final-Report-.pdf
For more details and the full report or more information, please contact Jimmy Larsen, Paul Moran, or Pooja Sankhe: Jimmy.Larsen@ipsos.com, Paul.Moran@ipsos.com, or Pooja.Sankhe@ipsos.com
