Finder’s positivity index increased by 2.4% in March 2024 to 108.7 points.
The increase in the average monthly saving was the main contributor to the increase in the index.
The increase in the index was primarily driven by the savings category. This was due to a 5% increase in people's savings and a 20% uptick in monthly savings contributions.
In terms of general economic sentiment, the number of individuals feeling positive about their ability to afford a home rose by 6%, alongside a 6% increase in optimism regarding Australia's recession likelihood. However, there was a 4% decrease in the proportion of people with positive sentiment about their ongoing employment.
There's been a 5% increase in individuals planning a holiday within the next 12 months, as well as a 5% increase in the use of 'buy-now-pay-later' platforms over the last 6 months.
Positive sentiment around housing saw a slight increase, with a 3% rise in individuals believing that 'now is a good time to buy property'.
What is the Finder Positivity Index?
Finder's Positivity Index is a monthly measure of Australian consumer sentiment, and a useful way to gauge the financial health of Australian consumers at a glance. It provides a snapshot of how Australians feel about their current capacity to earn a decent income; to spend enough to maintain their standard of living; and to save for the future. The index also provides an insight into where the economy as a whole is going in the short term.
The index is collated from over 50,000 responses to Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker since May 2019. It is produced by analysing data collected across five broad categories:
General economic sentiment (65%)
Housing (15%)
Savings (10%)
Credit card usage (5%)
Shopping behaviour (5%)
Each category is measured with survey responses on how Australians feel about a recession; their wages; wellbeing; their ability to pay for housing; their living costs; use of buy now pay later; and how much they save per month. The final index is a synthesis of these consumer perspectives into a single index to express current and near-term consumer sentiment. This synthesis involves creating separate indexes for each data point with a baseline of 50, then calculating a weighted sum as a final index.
Saranga Sudarshan was an insights analyst at Finder. He has a PhD from the University of St Andrews in political philosophy. Previously he was a research analyst at Frost & Sullivan. Saranga loves cricket, sports analytics and the way data can provide novel insights.
Aussies are doing Christmas on a budget this year.
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