TORONTO, May 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Canadians' consumer confidence took an encouraging jump in May, a sign that consumers may be feeling better about the economy as we head from spring into summer. According to the latest consumer confidence survey conducted by TNS, the Index measured in at 98.8 this month, more than three full points higher than the 95.4 posted in the month of April.
"It seems that Canadians have woken up about the economy and are liking what they see." said Norman Baillie-David, Vice President of TNS in Canada and Director of the Marketing and Social research firm's monthly tracking study. "Since the beginning of the year, confidence has been flat, or just waffling up and down as Canadians didn't seem to be preoccupied with economic concerns. This most recent and significant jump bodes well for the summer months."
The Present Situation Index, which measures how people feel about the economy right now, also rose significantly in May, climbing five points from 94.0 in April to 99.2 in May, the highest it's been since July of last year: "Canadians are feeling better about money issues today, in fact, better than they have for almost a year." continued Mr. Baillie-David.
The Expectations Index, which measures people's outlook for the economy six months from now, also jumped higher, rising more almost four points from 99.0 to 102.7, passing the all-important "100" mark. This means that the Index ticked higher than the long term average. "Canadians are starting to feel bullish about the economy now, and in the near future." added 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 going along with the trend, also rising from 93.6 to 94.2. "Canadians won't be rushing in droves to retail outlets just yet, but our numbers definitely show signs of cautious optimism, and hopefully the beginning of a trend."
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 1,027 nationally representative Canadian adults were interviewed between May 14 and May 17, 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.
About Kantar
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
on these results please contact:
Norman Baillie-David
Vice President
(613) 230-4408 x101
[email protected]
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