The latest Roy Morgan consumer confidence survey, conducted over the two weeks November 17-30, shows New Zealanders have become more confident since the election. In fact, at 105.6, this is the highest reading since the brief September spurt, and prior to that the highest since March.
Retailers should breathe a little more easily for Christmas as now a rising 45% (up 8%) say now is a "good time to buy" major household items, level with the falling 45% (down 6%) who say now is a "bad time to buy".
We are also far more positive about our personal financial situation compared to a year ago with 39% (up 7%, and the highest since the beginning of March 2008) of New Zealanders saying their family is "better off" financially than a year ago compared to 33% (down 10%), saying their family is "worse off."
Looking further ahead we are increasingly confident with 51% (up 5%) of New Zealanders expecting "good times" for the country during the next five years while only 26% (up 1%) expect "bad times."
This poll was conducted after the general election on November 8, but before the big RBNZ rate cut on December 4, 2008.
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