March 2025: Consumer confidence down globally as three sub-indices decline significantly
Ipsos’ Global Consumer Confidence Index is down 0.6 point since last month and sits at 48.2. The index declined for the first time since December; it is now in line with its reading from this time last year (-0.4 point).
Among 29 economies measured, five countries show significant gains in consumer sentiment from February to March, while seven countries show a notable decline. The Current, Expectations, and Investment sub-indices all show losses this month, while the Jobs Index remained stable.
Based only on the “legacy 20 countries” tracked since March 2010, the Index would read at 46.2, down an insignificant 0.4 point since February.
Sentiment fell sharply in Latin America. Chile (-4.6 points), Argentina (-3.9 points), Colombia (-2.5 points), and Peru (-2.2 points) all show significant declines this month. In contrast, no country shows a significant gain in Latin America.
Consumer confidence is mixed in the Asia-Pacific. Indonesia (-5.7 points) shows the largest decline among all countries, and Thailand (-2.4 points) is also down significantly. However, sentiment is up in both Malaysia (+2.8 points) and Australia (+2.5 points).
The Global Consumer Confidence Index is the average of all surveyed countries’ Overall or “National” indices. This month’s installment is based on a monthly survey of more than 21,000 adults under the age of 75 from 29 countries conducted on Ipsos’ Global Advisor online platform. This survey was fielded between February 21 and March 7, 2025.
Consumer sentiment in 29 countries
Among the 29 countries, India (60.2) holds the highest National Index score. It is the only country with a National Index score of 60 or higher.
Nine other countries now show a National Index at or above the 50-point mark: Indonesia (58.5), Malaysia (58.4), Mexico (58.1), Singapore (57.1), the Netherlands (54.8), Sweden (54.5), the U.S. (54.0), Australia (52.4), and Thailand (54.6).
In contrast, four countries now show a National Index below the 40-point mark: South Korea (39.4), Hungary (35.8), Japan (35.7), and Türkiye (35.0).
Compared to 12 months ago, seven countries show a significant drop in consumer sentiment. In contrast, five countries show a significant increase from February 2024, most of all in Malaysia (+12.5 points).
Trends
Ipsos’ Global Consumer Confidence Index (based on all 29 countries surveyed) currently reads at 48.2, down 0.6 point since February. Based only on the “legacy 20 countries” tracked since March 2010, it would read at 46.2.
The Current sub-index, reflecting consumers’ perceptions of the economic climate and their current purchasing, jobs, and investment confidence, is down 0.9 point and now sits at 38.6. Just four countries show a significant month-over-month gain (at least 2 points) in their Current sub-index, while nine countries show a significant loss.
The Investment sub-index, indicative of consumers’ perception of the investment climate, is down 0.7 point and is now at 41.1. Only four countries show a significant gain in their Investment sub-index this month, and eight countries show a significant loss.
The Expectations sub-index, indicative of consumer expectations about future economic conditions, declined 0.5 point this month and now sits at 56.7. In total, four countries show significant gains in their Expectations sub-index, and six countries show a significant loss.
The Jobs sub-index, reflecting perceptions about jobs security and the jobs market, shows stability for the fifth consecutive month (-0.3 point) and is now at 57.9. Similar to the Current Index, just four countries show significant gains in their Jobs sub-index, and nine show significant losses.
Of note, Indonesia, Italy, and Chile show significant losses (of at least 2 points) across all four sub-indices. In contrast, France is the only country to show significant month-over-month gains across all four sub-indices.