Ipsos on Consumer Confidence: July 2022

With inflation hitting decades-old highs, overall Consumer Confidence in Canada continues to be holding up relatively (and perhaps surprisingly) well. Ipsos’ new Consumer Confidence metrics show that Overall Confidence is only mildly negative (–1% versus what it “normally” is – the norm), although it is down over the last 2 months.

But the overall confidence result hides what is really going on. Personal Confidence (the “micro”) is now more negative than Economy Confidence (“the “macro”) and is down significantly vs 2 months. And Future Confidence is now more negative than Current Confidence, although both are trending down vs 2 months.

These results, along with the other tracking we do in Context, suggest that Canada is approaching very challenging economic waters in the next couple of months. While things have not deteriorated (yet) as much as some pundits would have us believe (likely due to sustained post lock-down euphoria and better weather), the trends suggest almost inevitable disruptive consumer behaviour in the near-to-medium-term (not only in spending but also in socio-political stability). The key for communicators, marketers and policy-makers will be identifying movement when it happens and leading/responding accordingly. 

Ipsos tracks consumer confidence each month, exploring:

• Personal Confidence: How people feel about their personal finances – both today and for the future.
• Economy Confidence: How people feel about the broader economic situation in Canada – both today and in the future
• Current Confidence – a combination of how Canadians feel about both their personal finances and the country’s broader economic situation today.
• Future Confidence – a combination of how Canadians feel about both their personal finances and Canada’s broader economic situation in the future
• Overall Confidence reflects all metrics combined.

In-depth and demographic tracking information is also available. Please contact us for pricing and possibilities.