NZ Consumers Feeling Stable & Optimistic

New Zealand consumers feeling stable and optimistic

Auckland, New Zealand – August 24, 2017 – The latest Mastercard Index of Consumer Confidence shows New Zealand consumer confidence has remained stable in the first half of 2016 at an optimistic 60.5 points, reflecting a strong economy.

The biannual survey by Mastercard found although New Zealand’s consumer confidence has dropped slightly the previous survey, the nation is still classed as optimistic at 60.5. Overall there was a slight decrease (1.7) since the previous survey was undertaken six months ago, which recorded the highest score since 2010.

New Zealanders have a stable outlook on all aspects, despite slight decreases on economic (60.1), employment (55.2), quality of life (50.6) and stock market (54.7) factors.

New Zealanders are very optimistic about their regular income prospects, the only factor that improved, moving from 73.9 to 82.1.

Peter Chisnall, Country Manager for Mastercard New Zealand and Pacific Islands, says the results show New Zealanders have a confident outlook.

“The state of the New Zealand economy is reflected in the stable consumer confidence outlook. While there is room for improvement, people feel the economy is steady and relatively secure. This confidence is a great sign for New Zealand’s economy, as it encourages strong consumer spending which helps drive economic growth.

“More New Zealanders are confident that their regular income will stay stable or even increase over the next six months. This is important as increasing pay can improve the standard of living for New Zealand families,” says Chisnall.

New Zealand’s score was 11.3 points ahead of Australia’s overall score of 49.2. New Zealand is ranked 11th overall, while Australia placed 12th out of the 18 surveyed markets.

“The survey findings revealed that New Zealanders feel better about all aspects measured than our Aussie friends across the ditch. Our recent history of a growing, stable economy is likely to have played a part in this gap in confidence,” says Chisnall.

Across the Asia Pacific, New Zealand’s consumer confidence score is 6 points below the average for the rest of the region, which averaged at 66.9.

The top nations in Asia Pacific were Cambodia (93.1) and Vietnam (90.8) as they feel most confident that aspects impacting consumer confidence are showing signs of improvement.

“The Mastercard Consumer Confidence Index has twenty years of great data, making it a leading indicator into the minds of consumers in New Zealand and across the Asia Pacific region,” says Chisnall.

ENDS

Methodology

The Mastercard Index of Consumer Confidence is based on a survey conducted between April 2017 and June 2017 on 9,153 respondents aged 18 – 64 in 18 markets.

Respondents were asked five questions pertaining to their six-month outlook on the economy, their employment prospects, the local stock market, their regular income prospects, and their quality of life. The results of their responses were converted in five component indexes which were subsequently averaged to form the Mastercard Index of Consumer Confidence (MICC) score. The MICC Index score and the 5 component index scores range from 0 – 100 where 0 represents maximum pessimism, 100 represents maximum optimism and 50 represents neutrality.

About the Mastercard Index™ of Consumer Confidence

The Mastercard Index™ of Consumer Confidence survey has a 20-year track record of consumer confidence indices collected from over 200,000 interviews, unequalled both in scope and history across Asia Pacific.

It is the most comprehensive and longest running survey of its kind in the region. In June 1997, the Index revealed a decline in consumer confidence – one month prior to the devaluation of the Thai baht that triggered the regional economic crisis. In June 2003, the Index score for Employment in Hong Kong dropped to a low score of 20.0. This was subsequently reflected in Hong Kong’s unemployment rate, which peaked just before September 2003 at eight percent.

The survey began in the first half of 1993 and has been conducted twice yearly since. Seventeen Asia Pacific markets now participate in the survey: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter@MastercardNZ, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

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