Consumer confidence surges to new peak in March 2024

• But all three indices still at pessimistic levels says IHP

Consumer confidence surges to a new peak in March 2024 as per the Institute for Health Policy (IHP) update of its Consumer Confidence Indices, generated from its Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS).

“All three of IHP’s Consumer Confidence indices improved to a new all-time peak in March,” said IHP. The Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS), the broadest measure of the public’s view of their personal economic status and the national economy gained 9 points to 31 points. The Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE), which tracks future perceptions increased 9 points to 37 points. The Index of Current Conditions (ICC), a measure of perceptions of current conditions, also increased 9 points to 22 points.

IHP said indices have been improving since the start of this year, so the general trend has been up. However, the late March data suggest a fall, but this will need to be confirmed in the April data before drawing conclusions. 

All IHP SLOTS consumer confidence indices range from zero to a potential maximum of 100, with levels below 50 indicating net pessimism.

The CCI estimates are based on 15,924 interviews conducted between 21 Oct. 2021 - 7 Apr. 2024, including 528 interviews conducted in March 2024, with sample sizes varying between indices depending on response rates. All estimates are adjusted to be representative of the national population, including gender, age, ethnicity, and income level.

The SLOTS platform tracks public opinion and wellbeing daily using a large national panel recruited by face-to-face interviews and other randomly dialled respondents, with numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications that use the data.