ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down for a fourth straight week by 0.5pts to 76.5 – lowest since early April 2020
ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence dropped by 0.5pts to 76.5 this week – the lowest rating since April 4/5, 2020 (71.9) in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumer Confidence is now 14.7pts below the same week a year ago, March 14-20, 2022 (91.2) and 5.6pts below the 2023 weekly average of 82.1.
Consumer Confidence was mixed around the country this week and was actually up in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but down in Queensland, and crucially down in New South Wales as the state heads to the voting booth this week as part of the State Election.
Views on personal finances and the Australian economy were virtually unchanged this week and it was an increase in the number of Australians who say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ major household items that drove the weekly decline.
Current financial conditions
- Now 19% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to a majority of 52% (unchanged) that say their families are ‘worse off’ financially.
Future financial conditions
- Looking forward, under a third of Australians, 30% (unchanged), expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year while over a third, 37% (unchanged), expect to be ‘worse off’.
Current economic conditions
- Only 6% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months compared to almost two-fifths, 39% (up 1ppt), that expect ‘bad times’.
Future economic conditions
- Sentiment regarding the Australian economy in the longer term remains very weak, though has recovered slightly, with only 13% (up 2ppts) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 21% (up 1ppt) expecting ‘bad times’. (the highest figure for this indicator so far this year).
Time to buy a major household item
- When it comes to buying intentions now 18% (down 1ppt) of Australians, say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items while over half, 55% (up 2ppts), say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the highest figure for this indicator for nearly three years since early April 2020).
ANZ Senior Economist, Adelaide Timbrell, commented:
Consumer confidence decreased for a fourth consecutive week and remains at very low levels. The index, in four of the past five weeks, was among the ten worst results since the COVID outbreak. Confidence among those paying off their mortgages fell 4.3pt and are at their lowest since the beginning of the monetary tightening cycle. Confidence among renters and outright homeowners rose a little. The proportion of people saying it is ‘a bad time to buy a major household item’ rose to 55%, its highest since early April 2020. Confidence about current finances increased 0.9pts but was still at its second lowest level since the initial COVID outbreak in Australia.
Related Research Reports
The latest Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Monthly Report is available on the Roy Morgan Online Store. It provides demographic breakdowns for Age, Sex, State, Region (Capital Cities/ Country), Generations, Lifecycle, Socio-Economic Scale, Work Status, Occupation, Home Ownership, Voting Intention, Roy Morgan Value Segments and more
Consumer Confidence – Monthly Detailed Report in Australia.
Business Confidence – Monthly Detailed Report in Australia.
Consumer Banking Satisfaction - Monthly Report in Australia.
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Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
