THE country’s spending outlook index of households on basic goods and services declined to 33.3 percent for the second quarter of this year from the previous survey result of 37.1 percent.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, based on the latest Consumer Expectations Survey said the decline indicates that “growth in consumer spending may slow in the next 3 months.”
“This suggests that while more respondents continued to expect higher spending on basic goods and services, the number that said so decreased compared to the Q4 2019 survey result for Q1 2020,” BSP said.
The survey also showed that across commodity groups, households’ spending outlook was mixed.
Fewer respondents expected higher spending on electricity; food, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and tobacco; fuel; personal care and effects; transportation; education, recreation and culture; clothing and footwear; restaurants and cafes; and communication.
Meanwhile, more respondents expected an increase in expenditures on medical care, but steady for water, house rent, and furnishing.
The survey also showed the percentage of households in the entire country that considered Q1 2020 as a favorable time to buy big-ticket items declined to 24.2 percent from 27.2 percent recorded in Q4 2019.
“The less bullish outlook on buying sentiment was evident across the three big-ticket items, namely, consumer durables, motor vehicles, and house and lot,” BSP said.
Respondents’ waning buying sentiment was attributable to: (a) low/insufficient income, (b) current acquisition of consumer durables, and (c) the shift of spending priority on food and other basic needs from big-ticket items.
BSP added the percentage of households in the entire country that considered the next 12 months as a favorable time to buy big-ticket items declined to 6.5 percent from 9.8 percent recorded in Q4 2019.
The Q1 2020 CES was conducted during the period 29 January — 10 February 2020. The CES samples were drawn from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Master Sample of Households, which is considered as a representative sample of households nationwide.
For the Q1 2020 CES, 5,555 households were surveyed. Of the said households, 2,770 were from NCR and 2,785 were from areas outside NCR.
