Consumer confidence rises as buyers show greater willingness to spend

Consumers are showing improved willingness to spend with a rise in consumer confidence being noted in the fourth quarter of the year.

The FNB/BER consumer confidence index improved to negative nine points from negative 13.

The uptick coupled with employment gains and a further interest rate cut suggest retail sales may not slow down as much as last year.

FNB Chief Economist Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya, “It is the highest consumer reading for 2025. The improvement in consumers’ appetite to spend extended to the holiday season. All three of the sub-indices improved during the fourth quarter of 2025.”

Ngwenya adds, “The subindices that measures the appropriate time to buy durable goods, so the largest jump to -20 from -14 index points reaching the highest level since the second quarter of 2019. Lower interest rates and a stronger rand exchange rate are supporting the affordability of durable goods in particular.”