Survey shows household confidence on the rise

The proportion of people who thought it was a good time to purchase a major household item gained 3 points.
The proportion of people who thought it was a good time to purchase a major household item gained 3 points. Photo credit: Getty Images

Households are expecting to pay more for consumer goods as inflationary pressure continues to build.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan survey of consumers showed headline confidence was steady at 114 points in June, which was a little under its historical average of 120.

Meanwhile, the proportion of people who thought it was a good time to purchase a major household item - a key measure of consumer confidence - gained 3 points.

"Households' confidence about buying major items is rising - not that previously self-reported wariness has been much of a constraint in practice," ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said.

This likely reflected that more consumers were substituting overseas holidays for nice things, Zollner said.

Much like businesses, consumers' inflation expectations jumped in June, rising 0.7 points to 5.1 percent - which is the highest reading in the survey's 11-year history.

Zollner said household inflation expectations were typically a lot higher than what businesses forecast, and had a high degree of volatility.

"But that doesn't mean they don't matter.

"Higher household inflation expectations make it easier for retailers to raise prices without fear of customer backlash, and can also impact wage demands if the labour market is tight like it clearly is now."

The inflationary pressures were the result of capacity constraints within the economy which included labour shortages, supply chain disruptions and higher electricity costs.

"As for business inflation expectations, a key question will be how long they remain elevated," Zollner said.

"But the data certainly underlines that risks to inflation are looking decidedly one-sided at present."

RNZ