Global consumer confidence getting closer to pre-pandemic level

No significant month-on-month drop in consumer sentiment recorded in any market

Washington, DC, March 17, 2021 — At 44.7, this month’s Ipsos Global Consumer Confidence Index is up by eight-tenths of a point over last month, marking a new high since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic a year ago.

The Global Consumer Confidence Index is the average of 24 world markets’ National Indices. It is based on a monthly survey of more than 17,500 adults under the age of 75 conducted on Ipsos’ Global Advisor online platform. This survey was fielded between February 19 and March 5, 2021.

Six of the 24 surveyed markets show significant growth in their National Index when compared to February 2021: Great Britain (+3.6), the United States (+2.2), Belgium (+1.8), Canada (+1.7), Japan (+1.7), and Turkey (+1.6). Meanwhile, not a single market has experienced a significant drop, defined as 1.5 index points or more.

National Index Trends

Roughly one year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, the Global Consumer Confidence Index comes in at 44.7, about four points below where it was then (48.5) as well as a couple of months earlier, in January 2020 (48.7), just before the world had heard of the coronavirus. With a 0.8-point uptick over February 2021’s reading, the index shows a monthly increase for the fourth straight month.

• With a National Index above 50, China (71.8), Saudi Arabia (62.9), India (56.9), Sweden (55.9), Australia (55.4), the United States (52.5), and Germany (51.9) are the highest indexing markets surveyed.

• Just two markets have a National Index below 35: South Africa (34.7) and Turkey (33.6). Neither country’s index has surpassed 35 since early 2020 (April and March, respectively).

• Although Great Britain’s National Index continues to trail that of other countries, it shows significant growth this month. It is up 3.6 points to 48.4, just 1.8 points below its January 2020 level (50.2).