The Americans counted down the days to Black Friday… but us Irish are counting down the days to a far less spend-crazy affair, Budget Day.
A new study shows consumer confidence remains very low ahead of December 5th. A total of 91 per cent believe this year’s government spending and saving plan will leave them with less money to spend on day-to-day groceries.
The survey of 1,010 people, carried out by Checkout Magazine by Empathy Research, found that participants with children are most worried about their house budgets and expenditure.
Just 6 per cent of 35-44 year-olds believe the Budget will not have an impact on the amount they have to spend on groceries, compared to 8 per cent of over-45 year-olds and 9 per cent of 25-34 year-olds.
Participants were also asked about whether they felt alcohol and tobacco will experience increases in this year’s Budget.
70 per cent of participants think the price of alcohol will go up by ‘a small amount’ in the Budget while 20 per cent say they think the price will increase ‘a lot’.
Over half of participants think the price of cigarettes will go up by ‘a small amount’ in the Budget while 44 per cent believe prices will increase ‘a lot’.
And it was the younger generation of spenders, people aged 18-24, who were among the most optimistic with 41 per cent saying people will be encouraged to start spending again.
“Consumer confidence has been shattered by successive hairshirt Budgets, so it’s unsurprising that such a high proportion of consumers are feeling pessimistic about December 5th,” said Stephen Wynne-Jones, editor of Checkout.
“While the supermarket sector has strived to meet consumer demand for value, the long-term health of the industry and the well-being of many Irish brands is dependent on consumers being encouraged to ‘spend a little extra’. Whether the government is mindful of that remains to be seen.”
How do you feel about the upcoming budget?
