April 2024: Consumer confidence largely up in Europe

Ipsos’ Global Consumer Confidence Index shows little change (+0.3) point since last month and now sits at 48.9. The index shows stability this month following last month’s decline and continues to remain nearly three points above its reading from this time last year.

Among 29 economies measured, seven show significant gains in consumer sentiment, while just four show a notable decline.

Based only on the “legacy 20 countries” tracked since March 2010, the Index would read at 46.9, up an insignificant 0.4 point since March. The “legacy 20” index is now more than two points above its reading from this time last year.

The Expectations sub-index is the only one to increase significantly this month. In contrast, the Current, Investment, and Jobs sub-indices show no significant change.

Sentiment is largely up throughout Europe. Sweden (+3.6 points), Great Britain (+3.1 points), France (2.8 points), and Spain (+2.5 points) all show significant gains this month. For Sweden, this month’s reading is the country’s highest in nearly two years.

In contrast, sentiment is more mixed in other regions. In the Asia-Pacific region, consumer confidence is up in Thailand (+2.1 points), while India (-5.2 points) shows the largest decline of any country. In Latin America, Argentina (+3.7 points) shows the largest increase among all countries, while sentiment declined sharply in Brazil (-3.5 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 March 22 and April 5, 2024.

Consumer sentiment in 29 countries

Among the 29 countries, India (67.0) continues to hold the highest National Index score. India and Indonesia (65.1) remain the only countries with a National Index score of 60 or higher.

Ten other countries now show a National Index above the 50-point mark: Mexico (59.8), Thailand (57.6), the Netherlands (54.8), Singapore (54.6), Sweden (54.5), the U.S. (53.4), Brazil (53.3), Poland (50.3), Great Britain (50.2) and Australia (50.1).

In contrast, just three countries show a National Index below the 40-point mark: South Korea (39.6), Türkiye (36.8), and Hungary (33.2).

Of note, sentiment in Argentina (44.5) is at its highest point since April 2018.

Compared to 12 months ago, just three countries show a significant drop in consumer sentiment. Fourteen countries show significant increases, most of all in Poland (+13.2), India (+11.4), and Argentina (+10.8).

Trends

Ipsos’ Global Consumer Confidence Index (based on all 29 countries surveyed) currently reads at 48.9, relatively unchanged (+0.3 point) since last month. Based only on the “legacy 20 countries” tracked since March 2010, it would read at 46.9.

The Current sub-index, reflecting consumers’ perceptions of the economic climate and their current purchasing, jobs, and investment confidence, shows no significant change (+0.2 point) across the 29 countries and now sits at 39.4. Nine countries show a significant month-over-month gain (at least 2 points) in their Current sub-index, and eight countries show a significant loss. 

The Investment sub-index, indicative of consumers’ perception of the investment climate, also shows no significant change (+0.3 point) and sits at 41.9. In total, ten countries show a significant gain in their Investment sub-index, compared to just five that show significant losses.

The Expectations sub-index, indicative of consumer expectations about future economic conditions, is the only sub-index to increase significantly (+0.7 point) and now sits at 57.9. Seven countries show significant gains in their Expectations sub-index, while Hungary is the only country to show a significant loss.

The Jobs sub-index, reflecting perceptions about jobs security and the jobs market, is up an insignificant 0.2 point and is now at 57.9. Five countries show significant gains in their Jobs sub-index, and five countries show significant losses.

Of note, no countries show significant losses (of at least 2 points) across all four sub-indices. In contrast, Türkiye and Sweden show significant month-over-month gains across all four sub-indices.