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Consumer confidence holding steady: TNS

April 18, 2012  By Canadian Garden Centre & Nursery


Apr. 18, 2012 — Canadian consumer confidence is holding steady and has remained virtually unchanged since February, TNS reports.

According to the firm's latest consumer confidence survey, the index
measured in at 95.4 in April, statistically the same as the 95.2 posted
in March, and 95.1 posted in February.

"It looks like Canadians remain tuned out for now," said Norman
Baillie-David, vice-president of TNS in Canada and director of the
marketing and social research firm's monthly tracking study. "Consumer
confidence has been locked down for the last two months, as other news
stories continue to dominate the headlines, and the economy is taking a
back seat. In March it was Robocalls and now in April it's the F35. In
fact, until the time the survey was taken, there still hadn't been any
dramatic news about the economy, and the result is that Canadians'
confidence is not moving either up, nor down."

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TNS' Present Situation Index, which measures how people feel about the
economy right now, was also statistically equal to last month, showing
93.9 in March and 94.0 in April.

"Canadians don't feel any better or worse about their lot in life right
now. It's staying pretty stable," continued Baillie-David.

The firm's Expectations Index, which measures people's outlook for the
economy six months from now, also remained virtually unchanged, dropping
slightly from 100.1 to 99.0

"This index continues to hover around its long-term average (100). I
suspect with the NHL playoffs starting, it's going to take something
really remarkable on the economic front to capture Canadians' attention
during the next month or so," said Baillie-David.

The Buy Index, which measures the extent to which Canadians' feel that
now is a good time to purchase a "big ticket item" such as a car or a
major household appliance, is the only one of TNS' sub-indices showing
some optimistic signs. This index rose from 92.0 to 93.6, which the firm
attributed to spring and the beginning of the home renovation season.

"In any event, that is some optimistic news going forward, and Canadians are in somewhat of a spending mood."

The firm's Consumer Confidence Index tracks Canadians' attitudes about the economy
each month, and is part of a global study conducted by TNS in 18
countries.

The Canadian fieldwork is conducted using the firm's national bi-weekly
telephone omnibus service, TNS Express Telephone. A total of 1,015
nationally representative Canadian adults were interviewed between April
2 and 5. For a survey of this size, the margin of error is plus or
minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times in 20.


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