A nationally representative sample of around 350 Georgians, interviewed in early September 2019, reveals that the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) has deteriorated by 1 index point; from -18 in August to -19.3 in September. A similar pattern was observed in both sub-indices: the Present Situation Index dropped by 2.2 index points (from -21.3 to -23.5) and the Expectations Index experienced a slight decline of 0.4 index points (from -14.7 to -15.1). Therefore, the overall change in consumer confidence for September correlates most clearly with the Present Situation Index.

Table 1 highlights that almost every group experienced negative changes in September, aside from the “Young”. While, the negative change in CCI is notably higher for the “Without higher education” and “Male” groups. The overall CCI decreased by 3.1 index points for Georgian consumers without a higher education (from -24.1 in August to -27.3 in September) and by nearly 2.6 index points for men (from -18 in August to -20.6 in September). Several issues in particular affected these results: attitudes towards savings, major purchases at present, and expectations about the general economic situation in the country (notably for the groups “Without higher education” and “Male”).

Table 1: September 2019, Changes in the Consumer Confidence Index (Index Points), by Group

Table 2, displayed below, identifies the areas that triggered a decline in Georgian consumer confidence for September (in the Present Situation Index): attitudes to making major purchases; current sentiments towards savings; and the country’s general economic situation over the last 12 months.

Table 2: September 2019, Changes in Consumer Confidence (Index Points), by Question (at present)

Table 3 illustrates various changes in September concerning the current economic situation. Each of the groups exhibited negative patterns concerning their ability to make major purchases and the country’s general economic situation over the last year. The data also shows that almost all the groups are optimistic towards their financial situation (excluding highly educated Georgian consumers), their current ability to save (again, aside from the highly educated) and how much consumer prices rose over the past 12 months (excluding the “Old” group, over 35, and those without a higher education). However, when considering current attitudes towards savings in September, only Georgian consumers from the capital were optimistic.

Table 3: September 2019, Changes in Consumer Confidence (Index Points), by Question (at present) and by Group

The final table below summarizes the categories where consumers were the most negatively affected.

Table 4: September 2019, Categories of Consumer whose Sentiment Deteriorated, by Question

MONTHLY AND YEARLY CHANGES IN THE CCI VARIABLES

BAR CHARTS: CONSUMER RESPONSES BY QUESTIONS