Consumer Confidence Slips, Not Crashes
The latest Harris Decima Investors Group measure of Canadian Consumer Confidence reveals that the economic turmoil of recent months has taken a toll on consumer confidence. However, a majority of Canadians continue to have confidence in the economy in the medium and longer term.
- The overall index dropped to its lowest point since September 2005, but remains higher than the comparable US index.
The five components that make up the index revealed a pattern of deteriorating confidence, but nothing approaching despair about the economic future. Three of five indicators showed a significant increase in negative sentiment from the last measurement period in September, 2007.
Overall, bullish sentiment continues to outweigh bearish feelings, with the exception being about the short term macro-economic outlook:
- 53% say it’s a good time to make a major purchase, while 31% say bad time
- 46% say the economy will be better in five years, 38% say worse
- 27% say they will be better off next year than today, 12% say worse
- 22% say they are better off today than last year, 19% say worse
- 16% say the Canadian economy will be stronger in a year, 28% say weaker
According to Harris/Decima President Bruce Anderson “People may not feel invulnerable, but they are clearly not hugely traumatized by roiling stock markets, the credit crunch, or a wounded manufacturing sector. So far, people appear to believe that the economy is both softer than in the recent past, but stronger than it has been over the longer term history. Those who do see problems, tend to think they will be short lived and not have much impact on them personally.”
“This is a good example of how emotions can affect Canadians’ attitudes in the short term” said Debbie Ammeter, Vice-President of Advanced Financial Planning for Investors Group. “Not surprisingly, a period of stock market volatility has shaken consumers’ overall confidence but – at the same time - Canadians don’t seem to be feeling much personal financial pain and appear to have good degree of confidence in the continued strength of the Canadian economy.”
Each week, Harris/Decima interviews just over 1000 Canadians through teleVox, the company’s national omnibus survey. These data were gathered February 8th through 17th 2008 for a sample of just over 2,000 respondents. The poll’s margin of error is 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.
Decima is Canada's largest independent and fastest growing public opinion and marketing research company, offering research-based advice as well as large-scale telephone, online and qualitative data collection. Visit us at: www.decima.com
Investors Group, founded in 1926, is a national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to Canadians through a network of over 4,000 Consultants located throughout Canada. In addition to an exclusive family of mutual funds and other investment vehicles, Investors Group offers a wide range of insurance, securities, mortgage and banking services. Investors Group is a member of the IGM Financial Inc. (TSX: IGM) group of companies. IGM Financial is one of Canada's premier financial services companies with over $125 billion in total assets under management.
| For more information contact: | ||
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| Bruce Anderson CEO Tel: (613) 230-2200 banderson@decima.com |
Ron Arnst Media Relations (204) 956-3364 ron.arnst@investorsgroup.com |
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