The National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) will begin conducting the 30th cycle of the Consumer Confidence Survey for the second quarter of 2021 starting from today till Thursday 10 June, 2021 which targets citizens who are 18 years old and above.
The survey aims to identify the development of the financial status of Omani families between the previous year and this year, the factors affecting the Omani economy both positively and negatively, the future prospects of the Omani economy, the families' purchasing power of household appliances, goods and cars, in addition to the availability of job opportunities at the present time and their future expectations as well.
The survey includes 1,500 samples, including Omani nationals aged 18 or above, distributed across the governorates of the Sultanate, taking into account the representation of males and females in relation to society, groups and different educational levels. Data collection will be done over mobile phones.
The methodology involves a simple arithmetic average of three sub-indicators, namely the current economic conditions index, household income level index, and consumer expectations index.
The consumer confidence index is a reflection of the behavior of consumers. An increase in customer spending leads to a rise in demand for various goods and services. This results in increased production and a rise in production facilities to meet that demand, which in turn aids the economic recovery process. Accordingly, the Consumer Confidence Index provides a futuristic vision to where the economy is heading.
Starting from the first quarter of 2015, the Consumer Confidence Index (as well as the sub-indices) is calculated as a record number attributed to the last quarter of 2014.
Whenever the index value exceeds 100 points, this indicates a relative improvement in the index values over the reference period and an increase in the level of optimism regarding economic conditions. The reverse occurs when the index falls below 100. If the index value remains stable at 100, it means neutrality or no change from the reference period.
NCSI carries out quarterly surveys of consumer confidence index, with the first cycle of the same conducted in March 2014. The Fourth quarter of 2014 was picked to be the base period based on the relative stability of indices at that time in comparison to previous periods. The timing was also chosen in order to avoid the effects of unifying the civil sector's salaries which came into effect in January 2014.