Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of its Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS)1 for the May 2022 round. The survey obtains current perceptions (vis-à-vis a year ago) and one year ahead expectations on general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation and own income and spending across 19 major cities. The latest round of the survey was conducted during May 02 to May 11, 2022, covering 6,027 responses. Highlights: -
Consumer confidence2 for the current period has been consistently improving since July 2021; the sentiments on the key parameters like employment and household income improved further in the latest round of the survey, though they remained in pessimistic zone (Chart 1 and Tables 2 and 5). -
One year ahead outlook of households remained in growth terrain despite marginal moderation in sentiments in the latest survey round (Chart 1 and Tables 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6). -
Households’ assessed a rise in their current spending and expected it to increase further over the next one year; they expected higher essential spending whereas the sentiments on non-essential spending remained downbeat (Tables 6 and 7). Note: Please see the excel file for time series data3.
| Table 1: Perceptions and Expectations on the General Economic Situation | | (Percentage responses) | | Survey Round | Current Perception | One year ahead Expectation | | Improved | Remained Same | Worsened | Net Response | Will Improve | Will Remain Same | Will Worsen | Net Response | | May-21 | 7.5 | 11.8 | 80.8 | -73.3 | 33.9 | 15.3 | 50.8 | -16.9 | | Jul-21 | 10.0 | 12.1 | 78.0 | -68.0 | 40.1 | 16.3 | 43.6 | -3.4 | | Sep-21 | 15.4 | 13.0 | 71.6 | -56.2 | 42.3 | 18.1 | 39.6 | 2.7 | | Nov-21 | 17.4 | 12.6 | 70.1 | -52.7 | 44.6 | 17.3 | 38.1 | 6.4 | | Jan-22 | 17.8 | 15.6 | 66.7 | -48.9 | 40.8 | 16.7 | 42.5 | -1.7 | | Mar-22 | 21.7 | 16.2 | 62.2 | -40.5 | 49.2 | 15.2 | 35.7 | 13.5 | | May-22 | 22.5 | 14.9 | 62.7 | -40.2 | 45.4 | 15.3 | 39.4 | 6.0 |
| Table 2: Perceptions and Expectations on Employment | | (Percentage responses) | | Survey Round | Current Perception | One year ahead Expectation | | Improved | Remained Same | Worsened | Net Response | Will Improve | Will Remain Same | Will Worsen | Net Response | | May-21 | 8.1 | 10.9 | 81.0 | -73.0 | 36.0 | 16.3 | 47.6 | -11.6 | | Jul-21 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 77.5 | -66.5 | 42.7 | 16.6 | 40.7 | 2.0 | | Sep-21 | 15.6 | 13.5 | 70.9 | -55.4 | 45.7 | 18.1 | 36.3 | 9.4 | | Nov-21 | 19.6 | 16.5 | 64.0 | -44.4 | 48.9 | 18.1 | 33.0 | 16.0 | | Jan-22 | 17.4 | 17.2 | 65.4 | -48.0 | 41.4 | 19.3 | 39.3 | 2.2 | | Mar-22 | 23.6 | 17.0 | 59.5 | -35.9 | 52.9 | 17.0 | 30.2 | 22.7 | | May-22 | 27.3 | 17.8 | 54.9 | -27.6 | 51.3 | 16.7 | 32.1 | 19.2 |
| Table 3: Perceptions and Expectations on Price Level | | (Percentage responses) | | Survey Round | Current Perception | One year ahead Expectation | | Increased | Remained Same | Decreased | Net Response | Will Increase | Will Remain Same | Will Decrease | Net Response | | May-21 | 90.4 | 7.7 | 1.9 | -88.5 | 74.3 | 15.9 | 9.8 | -64.4 | | Jul-21 | 92.6 | 5.6 | 1.8 | -90.8 | 71.5 | 16.3 | 12.2 | -59.4 | | Sep-21 | 92.6 | 5.7 | 1.7 | -91.0 | 75.0 | 14.5 | 10.5 | -64.5 | | Nov-21 | 95.1 | 3.9 | 1.0 | -94.2 | 76.6 | 12.6 | 10.9 | -65.7 | | Jan-22 | 93.4 | 5.4 | 1.2 | -92.3 | 78.1 | 12.4 | 9.5 | -68.6 | | Mar-22 | 93.3 | 5.6 | 1.2 | -92.1 | 79.1 | 10.4 | 10.5 | -68.6 | | May-22 | 95.4 | 4.1 | 0.5 | -94.9 | 80.0 | 11.1 | 8.9 | -71.1 |
| Table 4: Perceptions and Expectations on Rate of Change in Price Level (Inflation)* | | (Percentage responses) | | Survey Round | Current Perception | One year ahead Expectation | | Increased | Remained Same | Decreased | Net Response | Will Increase | Will Remain Same | Will Decrease | Net Response | | May-21 | 86.4 | 11.1 | 2.5 | -84.0 | 80.1 | 15.9 | 4.0 | -76.1 | | Jul-21 | 87.6 | 10.4 | 2.0 | -85.6 | 79.8 | 15.9 | 4.3 | -75.5 | | Sep-21 | 88.2 | 9.0 | 2.9 | -85.3 | 82.9 | 12.9 | 4.3 | -78.6 | | Nov-21 | 90.6 | 7.1 | 2.3 | -88.4 | 82.4 | 13.2 | 4.4 | -78.0 | | Jan-22 | 88.1 | 8.7 | 3.2 | -84.9 | 81.7 | 13.5 | 4.7 | -77.0 | | Mar-22 | 88.5 | 9.3 | 2.2 | -86.2 | 83.9 | 12.4 | 3.7 | -80.2 | | May-22 | 91.3 | 7.0 | 1.7 | -89.7 | 81.7 | 14.2 | 4.1 | -77.6 | | *Applicable only for those respondents who felt price has increased/price will increase. |
| Table 5: Perceptions and Expectations on Income | | (Percentage responses) | | Survey Round | Current Perception | One year ahead Expectation | | Increased | Remained Same | Decreased | Net Response | Will Increase | Will Remain Same | Will Decrease | Net Response | | May-21 | 10.1 | 32.5 | 57.4 | -47.3 | 44.1 | 40.9 | 15.0 | 29.1 | | Jul-21 | 8.0 | 27.2 | 64.9 | -56.9 | 45.7 | 40.3 | 14.1 | 31.6 | | Sep-21 | 11.2 | 31.5 | 57.3 | -46.1 | 45.4 | 41.8 | 12.8 | 32.6 | | Nov-21 | 13.0 | 36.0 | 51.0 | -38.1 | 47.9 | 40.8 | 11.3 | 36.6 | | Jan-22 | 12.3 | 38.0 | 49.7 | -37.4 | 43.2 | 42.5 | 14.3 | 29.0 | | Mar-22 | 16.0 | 42.1 | 42.0 | -26.0 | 52.9 | 38.5 | 8.6 | 44.3 | | May-22 | 17.6 | 46.0 | 36.4 | -18.9 | 52.4 | 39.2 | 8.4 | 44.0 |
| Table 6: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending | | (Percentage responses) | | Survey Round | Current Perception | One year ahead Expectation | | Increased | Remained Same | Decreased | Net Response | Will Increase | Will Remain Same | Will Decrease | Net Response | | May-21 | 50.5 | 29.8 | 19.7 | 30.8 | 61.5 | 29.1 | 9.4 | 52.0 | | Jul-21 | 51.5 | 27.0 | 21.6 | 29.9 | 62.7 | 27.8 | 9.5 | 53.1 | | Sep-21 | 58.3 | 25.4 | 16.3 | 42.0 | 66.0 | 26.7 | 7.3 | 58.8 | | Nov-21 | 62.2 | 22.1 | 15.8 | 46.4 | 66.4 | 25.7 | 8.0 | 58.4 | | Jan-22 | 61.7 | 24.9 | 13.3 | 48.4 | 64.4 | 26.9 | 8.7 | 55.8 | | Mar-22 | 64.1 | 24.8 | 11.1 | 53.0 | 70.4 | 23.2 | 6.4 | 64.1 | | May-22 | 69.4 | 22.1 | 8.5 | 60.9 | 72.5 | 21.7 | 5.8 | 66.7 |
| Table 7: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending- Essential Items | | (Percentage responses) | | Survey Round | Current Perception | One year ahead Expectation | | Increased | Remained Same | Decreased | Net Response | Will Increase | Will Remain Same | Will Decrease | Net Response | | May-21 | 62.6 | 22.3 | 15.1 | 47.5 | 68.4 | 24.2 | 7.4 | 61.0 | | Jul-21 | 65.4 | 18.8 | 15.8 | 49.7 | 71.1 | 21.7 | 7.2 | 63.9 | | Sep-21 | 72.4 | 16.5 | 11.1 | 61.3 | 73.5 | 20.7 | 5.8 | 67.8 | | Nov-21 | 75.4 | 14.5 | 10.1 | 65.4 | 74.1 | 20.1 | 5.8 | 68.4 | | Jan-22 | 75.7 | 15.6 | 8.7 | 67.1 | 73.5 | 20.1 | 6.4 | 67.0 | | Mar-22 | 76.6 | 15.7 | 7.7 | 68.9 | 78.6 | 16.2 | 5.2 | 73.5 | | May-22 | 81.7 | 12.8 | 5.5 | 76.2 | 79.9 | 15.7 | 4.4 | 75.4 |
| Table 8: Perceptions and Expectations on Spending- Non-Essential Items | | (Percentage responses) | | Survey Round | Current Perception | One year ahead Expectation | | Increased | Remained Same | Decreased | Net Response | Will Increase | Will Remain Same | Will Decrease | Net Response | | May-21 | 10.4 | 31.1 | 58.5 | -48.1 | 25.1 | 40.0 | 35.0 | -9.9 | | Jul-21 | 9.3 | 26.9 | 63.8 | -54.5 | 23.9 | 36.9 | 39.2 | -15.3 | | Sep-21 | 10.2 | 28.9 | 60.8 | -50.6 | 25.5 | 37.0 | 37.5 | -12.0 | | Nov-21 | 12.9 | 26.8 | 60.4 | -47.5 | 25.0 | 36.3 | 38.7 | -13.7 | | Jan-22 | 14.3 | 31.1 | 54.5 | -40.2 | 23.6 | 38.6 | 37.8 | -14.2 | | Mar-22 | 16.1 | 31.6 | 52.2 | -36.1 | 28.9 | 36.7 | 34.4 | -5.5 | | May-22 | 16.6 | 34.1 | 49.3 | -32.7 | 27.5 | 38.4 | 34.1 | -6.6 |
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