Coronavirus pandemic led to a sharp fall in consumer confidence in the first quarter of 2020
Consumer confidence in Northern Ireland declined sharply in the first quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic had a negative impact on how people were feeling.
The Danske Bank Northern Ireland Consumer Confidence Index fell to 119 in Q1 2020, down from 129 in the fourth quarter of last year and significantly below the reading of 139 posted in the first quarter of 2019. The Q1 2020 index reading was the lowest since 2013.
The survey was carried out during March and only partly captures the impact of the lockdown measures on sentiment levels.
When asked what factor had the largest negative impact on their confidence levels, 43 per cent of respondents pointed to global risks. This is considerably higher than in previous surveys and can be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic, given the extent to which it had already impacted countries across the globe at the time of the survey.
