The Institute for Health Policy (IHP) released today the February 2023 update of its Consumer Confidence Indices, which are generated from its Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS).

Consumer confidence, which was already deeply pessimistic, continued to worsen in February, with the Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) declining 3 points to reach 12. The ICS is the broadest measure of the public’s views of their personal economic status and the national economy which ranges from zero to a potential maximum 100, with levels below 50 indicating net pessimism.

The decline in overall consumer confidence was mainly driven by declines in expectations about the future, with the Index of Consumer Expectation (ICE), a measure of perceptions about the future, decreasing 5 points to 17 points. This represents a significant decline in the public’s views about the long-term future for the national economy. However, the Index of Consumer Conditions (ICC), a measure of perceptions about current conditions increased 1 point to 6 points. 

Despite a slight improvement in current conditions, views about current buying conditions remains at very low levels (below 10 points) suggesting low demand for purchases.

About IHP

IHP is an independent, non-partisan research centre based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The SLOTS lead investigator is Dr Ravi Rannan-Eliya of IHP, who has trained in public opinion polling at Harvard University and has conducted numerous surveys over three decades. 

Methodology

SLOTS combines data from a national sample of adults (ages 18 and over) reached by random digit dialling of mobile numbers, and others coming from a national panel of respondents who were previously recruited through random selection. The SLOTS is made possible by funding support from the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust, The Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka, and others, but the sponsors play no role in the study design, analysis, or interpretation of findings. Interested parties can contact IHP for more detailed data and results.