Consumer are more likely to spend their hard earned cash following the October budget when compared to before the budget measures were announced, a new survey has found.
A reversal in the trend of a decline in consumer activity this year has been found in the latest Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey which tracks the monthly mood of consumers in the country.
October saw a rise in consumer sentiment, following a drop in the previous month from August to September.
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Economist Austin Hughes who helped to prepare the data from the survey said that conditions in Ireland have encouraged consumers here to spend their money, as consumer in other EU states continue the downward trend.
Austin said: “This uptick seems to be driven by domestic factors as improved sentiment in Ireland contrasts markedly with weaker results in the latest readings for similar confidence measures for the US, Germany and the UK."
The survey is the first piece of data collected since the budget measures, which aimed to bring relief amidst the cost of living crisis, and it appears the budget measures are beginning to have an impact on consumers.
Despite having risen since the previous month, consumer sentiment is still below average when compared to the rest of the data from the surveys 27 year long history.
The CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions, David Malone, said that the result of the survey is a positive outcome: “The improvement in the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey in October is encouraging in that it suggests that with the right supports Irish consumers may be better able to make their way through what are very challenging times financially."
A special question was asked in the study this time around, which asked consumers how well Irish economy is performing at the moment and what affect it has on them personally.
One in three consumers responded that they thought neither the economy as a whole, or the consumer individually were doing particularly well financially.
One in four consumers thought that the Irish economy is doing well, but said their personal finances did not reflect the same.
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