The Czechs are among Europe’s most optimistic consumers

In the Czech Republic the consumer confidence index is one of the highest in Europe. In Q1 2016 the Germans, the Brits and the Czechs were all at 97 points – the Danish were the most optimistic consumers with a 105-point index. In the same 3-month period like-for-like FMCG volume sales were up 3.1 percent. Value sales rose 1.9 percent while average prices decreased by 1.2 percent.

From the three components of the index it is noteworthy that 58 percent of Czech consumers think their personal finances will be more or less OK in the 12 months to come – 1 percentage point more than in Q4 2015. 49 percent of respondents were optimistic about their job prospects as opposed to the 53 percent in Q4 2015. As for the ‘time is right to buy what I want or need’, 49 percent of Czechs gave a positive answer – 2 percentage points more than in the last quarter of 2015.

The combined consumer confidence index of the 31 European countries surveyed dropped from 81 to 78 points (personal finances: 40 percent were optimistic, willingness to by: 33 percent said yes, job prospects: 27 percent gave a positive answer).