Global Consumer Confidence Index Holds Steady
In the inaugural month of 2018, the global Ipsos Consumer Confidence Index holds steady at 50.1. The Ipsos Consumer Confidence Index is a measure of consumer attitudes in 24 countries regarding the current and future state of local economies, personal finances, savings, and confidence to make large investments fielded monthly by Ipsos Public Affairs.
These findings are based on data from Thomson Reuters/Ipsos’ Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI) collected in an ongoing survey that has conducted 17,500 interviews of adults aged 18-64 in the United States, Canada, and Israel and adults aged 16-64 in the index’s 21 other countries monthly since January 2010.
Continuing to lead in overall Consumer Confidence are: China (70.4), India (64.7), Sweden (63.0), and the U.S. (61.1). Of these countries, India is the only one to see a significant change over the last three months with an index decrease of -1.5 points. Italy (37.8) remains the country with the lowest Consumer Confidence Index score, followed by Turkey (39.4) and Russia (39.9).
Related to the Ipsos Consumer Confidence Index are three sub-indices: the Ipsos Jobs Index reflecting perceptions of job security, the Ipsos Expectations Index reflecting economic expectations, and the Ipsos Investment Index reflecting perceptions of the country’s investment climate.
January 2018’s global Ipsos Jobs Index (57.4) remains nearly unchanged with a three-month increase of just 0.2 points, but is up 2.5 points from this time last year. The U.S. (71.4) experienced the largest Jobs Index gain over the last three months with an increase of 3.5 points. Once again, Turkey’s Jobs Index score (43.3) shows the steepest three-month drop (-3.2 points). The U.S. and Sweden (both at 71.4) have overtaken China (70.4) as the Job Index’s top scoring countries. Brazil (34.0), despite seeing a significant increase over the last three months (+2.9), continues to record the lowest Jobs Index score among the 24 countries surveyed.
The global Ipsos Expectations Index has also remained even over the last three months, holding at 58.5. The two countries with a score above 70 have seen only minimal changes over the past three months: a 1.0-point increase for China and a 1.0-point decrease for India. Turkey (46.5) is now the sole country with an Expectations Index score below 50 as South Africa saw a significant increase of 3.2 points jumping to 52.0.
The global Ipsos Investment Index increased by 0.4 points to 44.2, led by China (69.0), India (66.1), and Sweden (59.7). Among the Investment Index’s top scorers, only India experienced a significant decrease (-2.9 points) over the previous three months – a recurring pattern. Belgium (43.3), conversely, experienced consecutive months of increases of 5 points or more. Italy (28.4), Japan (29.3), and Russia (32.2) represented the index’s low scores for the month.
