Vaccine rollout and easing of restrictions boosted NI consumer confidence in second quarter

The Danske Bank Northern Ireland Consumer Confidence Index increased to a reading of 149 in Q2 2021, up from 137 in the first quarter of the year, and above the index level of 122 posted in the second quarter of 2020. The survey was carried out in June 2021.

In the survey, local people once again reported feeling more confident about their current finances, future finances, job security and expected spending on expensive items.

Looking forward, Danske Bank said the latest rise in confidence should support consumer spending and wider economic growth.

When asked what had the largest positive impact on their confidence levels, 48% of people highlighted the coronavirus vaccine programme. The success of the vaccine rollout has helped to facilitate the reopening of many consumer-focused parts of the economy, such as non-essential retail stores, restaurants and hotels, and this was another factor that positively influenced people, with 12% of people pointing to the gradual easing of restrictions as a significant positive.

Asked what had the largest negative impact on their outlook, 40% of respondents said the post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland made them feel less confident. For 12% of people, the restrictions still in place to limit the spread of coronavirus were the main negative, while another 12% of those surveyed said the impact of higher prices on their household finances had the largest adverse impact.

In the latest survey, 33% of people felt their financial position had improved over the previous 12 months, but 21% of those surveyed said their finances had deteriorated.

When asked about their future finances, 26% of people surveyed expected their financial position to improve over the next year, compared with 16% who expected their finances to worsen.

On job security, 11% of people expected to become more secure in their job, while 10% expected their job security to worsen. 57% thought their job security would remain unchanged.

And in terms of spending, 30 per cent of consumers said they expected to spend more on high value items over the next year, compared with 23% who expected to spend less.

Commenting on the latest release of the index, Danske Bank Chief Economist Conor Lambe said: “This rise in consumer confidence in Northern Ireland has been driven mainly by the continued rollout of the coronavirus vaccine programme. Given the success of the rollout, coupled with the gradual easing of the restrictions, the economy appears to have begun to recover at a reasonably strong pace.

“This latest increase in confidence is another positive development which should support consumer spending as we move forward and adds more credence to the view that the recovery from the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic will hopefully occur more quickly than had previously been expected.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you