Consumers remain wary

Canadians’ consumer confidence is in a holding pattern as many continue to keep a tight hold of their purse strings, according to the latest consumer confidence survey by TNS.

The Index measured in at 95.2 in March, virtually unchanged from the 95.1 in February.

“It looks like Canadians have tuned out for now,” said Norman Baillie-David, vice-president of TNS in Canada. “Consumer confidence hasn’t budged in a month, largely because there hasn’t been any dramatic news about the economy, and the result is that Canadians’ confidence hasn’t changed in a month.”

The Present Situation Index, which measures how people feel about the economy right now, edged slightly from 92.4 in February to 93.9 in March, suggesting “Canadians don’t feel any better or worse about their lot in life right now.”

The Expectations Index, which measures consumers’ outlook for the economy six months from now, dropped only slightly from 101.6 to 100.1, not far from its long-term average (100).

“Canadians have either grown weary or blasé about the up and down news, and have stopped riding the roller-coaster,” said Baillie-David. “This can be a good or a bad sign. On the one hand, it will take more than just a bit of bad news to shake Canadians, but on the other hand, it will take longer and sustained good news about the economy to convince Canadians to start feeling really good again.”

The Buy Index, which measures how Canadians’ feel about the present time to purchase a big ticket item, remained almost at exactly the same level that it was a month ago, inching down from 92.2 to 92.0.

When people feel now is a good time to buy, they may act on it, which will provide the real economic stimulus.