According to ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence survey, confidence has fallen by 27.8 per cent last week to 72.2, with a score of 100 suggesting optimism.
In a week highlighted by rush to buy entertainment items as the government announced phase two of its lockdown, the survey revealed overall Australians’ likelihood of buying major items fell by 37.2 per cent.
The economic conditions subindices were also down sharply, with current economic conditions falling 37.1 per cent and future economic conditions declining by 19.1 per cent.
ANZ head of Australian economics David Plank commented on the finding, stating: “The increasingly negative news about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia has had a dramatic impact on consumer sentiment, with confidence showing its biggest ever fall since the survey moved to a weekly basis in 2008.”
Mr Plank believes the lack of consumer confidence is now only comparable to when Australia last fell into a recession.
“The plunge was broad-based, with all sub-components of sentiment well below average and well below the levels seen during the GFC.”
“Only the levels seen during the 1990-91 recession are comparable. We should note that the coronavirus has necessitated a change in the survey methodology, away from face-to-face to phone and online interviews. It is possible that this impacted the results, though the consistency of the responses suggests this is unlikely,” Mr Plank concluded.
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