Canadians' Consumer Confidence Holding Steady after Large September Increase: Survey

TORONTO, Oct. 11, 2012 /CNW/ - Canadian Consumer Confidence dipped very slightly in October, but not enough to represent a statistically significant drop.  In practical terms, this means Consumer Confidence is basically the same as last month.

According to the latest consumer confidence survey conducted by TNS, the Canadian Consumer Confidence Index dropped slightly, from 98.6 to 98.0, which is not enough to represent a statistically significant change from the previous month.   "Basically, we're statistically at the same point we were in September, which means nothing has derailed the big jump in confidence we saw a month ago"  explained Norman Baillie-David, Senior Vice President of TNS in Canada and Director of the Marketing and Social research firm's monthly tracking study.

"Canadians have basically taken a pause to look around. With the US presidential campaign in full swing and the House of Commons not sitting until the end of September, there hasn't been much news on the economic front - positive or negative - to cause any major swings in how consumers are feeling."

The Present Situation Index, which measures how people feel about the economy right now, also dropped slightly from 100.8 to 99.6, but still not enough to erase the major jump in confidence we witnessed in September.

The Expectations Index, which measures people's outlook for the economy six months from now, saw a small decline from 100.2 to 99.4;  significant, but also not enough to erase the gains made during the past month. "Expectations dropped slightly but continue to hover around the 100 mark, meaning that Canadians are neither bullish nor bearish about their prospects for the next six months.  It's best characterized as a 'wait and see' attitude", continued Mr. Baillie-David.

The Buy Index, which measures the extent to which Canadians' feel that now is a good time to purchase a "big ticket item" such as a car or a major household appliance, is perhaps the most important of the sub-indices, because if people feel now is a good time to buy, they may act on it, which will provide the real economic stimulus. The Buy Index is the only one to show a directional rise in October, from 93.9 to 94.5.  While not enough to represent a significant increase since September, October represents the fourth month in a row in which the Buy Index is up, meaning Canadians are definitely in more of a buying mood than they were earlier this summer.

Full report along with charts available at:
http://www.tnscanada.ca/news/2012.10.11-CCI-Tracking-2012-10.pdf

Consumer Confidence Index tracks Canadians' attitudes about the economy each month and is part of a global study conducted by TNS in 18 countries. Three indices are produced each month to show how confidence in the economy is changing: Present Situation Index; an Expectations Index; and a Buy Index.

The Canadian fieldwork is conducted using the firm's national bi-weekly telephone omnibus service, TNS Express Telephone.  A total of 1,015 nationally representative Canadian adults were interviewed between October 1 and October 4, 2012. For a survey sample of this size, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

About TNS and Kantar

TNS (formerly known as TNS Canadian Facts) is the Canadian arm of TNS Global. TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching and stakeholder management, based on long-established expertise and market-leading solutions. With a presence in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world's consumers than anyone else and understands individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of the world.

TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups.

Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.

Kantar is one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups. By uniting the diverse talents of its 13 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Its 28,500 employees work across 100 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at each and every point of the consumer cycle. The group's services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies. 

For further information, please visit us at www.kantar.com.

SOURCE: TNS

If you want more information on these results please contact:

Norman Baillie-David, MBA, CMRP 
Vice President,
[phone] x101
[email protected]
@NBaillieDavid
www.tnscanada.ca
@TNSCanada