Consumer confidence grew again

The consumer confidence index was up once again in Hungary: the 63 points in the 4th quarter was 2 points higher than the index of the 3rd quarter. As a matter of fact, in comparison with the 1st quarter of 2015 the growth was a considerable 8 percentage points.

Hungarians were most optimistic about their personal financial situation: 27 percent of respondents said it would be good in the following 12-month period (the index was up 3 percentage points from the 3rd quarter). At 17 percent there was also a 3-percentage point increase in the proportion of those who were optimistic about their job prospects. Willingness to purchase: the growth process that had started earlier came to a halt and just like in the 3rd quarter, 21 percent of respondents were of the opinion that the time was right to buy what they need or want.

Nielsen retail service manager Ágnes Szűcs-Villányi told our magazine that in most cases a growth in consumer confidence translates into FMCG sales growth. In Hungary volume sales had started to decline in 2008 and a positive trend only began in 2014. However, since then the growth has been continuous.