Consumers increasingly happy to splash the cash

The amount of Australian consumers who feel it’s now a good time to buy major household items has hit a four-year high, according to new research.

The weekly Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating found that 64% of Australians feel that it’s a good time to spend money, up 5% on October last year.

Just 14% think it’s a bad time to invest in major goods and services, with the rating showing its most positive level since January 2006.

Despite this rise, the Roy Morgan consumer confidence index fell by 1.5 points on last week, down to 127.7 points. The rating is 0.6 points higher than the same period a year ago.

Exactly a third of Australians say that their family is better off financially compared to a year ago, down 2%, with 28% saying that their finances are worse, up 3%.

Roy Morgan said that the slight dip in consumer confidence was due to a slightly lower feeling of optimism about the next 12 months.

Commenting in the willingness of Australians to purchase big ticket household items, Gary Morgan, executive chairman of Roy Morgan, says: “The soaring Australian dollar, which briefly reached parity with the US dollar last Friday night, is likely responsible for this surge, as imported consumer goods like TVs, stereos, refrigerators, washing machines and whitegoods all become more affordable for households as the Australian dollar strengthens.”