Consumer confidence plunges as SA faces economic headwinds

SOUTH Africa's consumer confidence took another knock in the third quarter of 2025, with the FNB/Bureau for Economic Research (BER) Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) falling from -10 to -13, sparking renewed concern about the outlook for household spending and economic growth.

- YOGASHEN PILLAY

Although still above the exceptionally weak first-quarter reading of -20, when a host of negative shocks hit sentiment, the Q3 figure remains well below the relatively upbeat levels recorded in the second half of 2024.

Since 1994, the average CCI has stood at -1, highlighting how deeply negative current sentiment is.

The deterioration was driven mainly by a sharp fall in confidence among middle-income households, which dropped from -7 to -16. Both the household finances and economic outlook sub-indices weakened, slipping from 9 to 3 and from -18 to -22 index points respectively.

Sentiment worsened on both the economic and household financial outlook, while the suitability of the present time to buy durable goods remained in deeply negative territory, at -20, barely changed from Q2.25’s -21, interest rate cuts since 2024.