Consumer concerned about economy

Consumer confidence shows a downward trend. The indicator dropped from -4 in January to -10 in February and is back on the level of early 2006. Consumers became considerably more pessimistic about the economic climate. Their willingness to buy, on the other hand, decreased only marginally.

Indicators consumer confidence

Consumers’ opinions about the economic climate dropped by 12 points to -23. This is indeed below the average over the past two decades (-10), but still far away from the lowest value ever recorded by Statistics Netherlands (-67). Consumers’ opinions on the economic climate in the past twelve months as well as the twelve months to come deteriorated substantially in February.

Despite their gloomy view on the economy, the indicator ‘willingness to buy’ deteriorated only marginally. Consumers’ opinions on their own financial situation hardly changed. On the other hand, they are less positive about buying expensive items like cars or furniture than they were a month ago.

Consumer confidence, seasonally adjusted