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Nigeria dropped one point on the latest Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) amid weak growth and high unemployment rate in the country.  The latest CCI, released on Wednesday, shows Nigeria’s CCI declined slightly in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 117.

A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last December showed unemployment rate had reached 23.1 percent in Q3 2018. Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, also remained at nearly 12 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.

But despite the decline in consumer confidence level in the period under review, consumer sentiment still leaned on the positive side, with the CCI above the 100-baseline indicating optimism. The Nielsen consumer confidence index measures perceptions of more than 30,000 respondents with internet access in 61 countries. Confidence levels of below 100 reflects pessimism.   

“In Nigeria, continued inflationary pressures and uncertainties around the elections could have impacted consumer sentiment, leading to a one-point drop on the Consumer Confidence Index,” said Ged Nooy, Managing Director of Nielsen Nigeria. “Despite the drop, consumers still showed an increased propensity towards stocking up on the necessities as a result of year-end festivities.”

According to the statement released by Nielsen, half (50 percent) of the Nigerian respondents said that they have spare cash, representing a decrease of five percentage points from Q3 2018. In terms of what their spending priorities are, after meeting their essential living expenses, 73 percent of the Nigerians surveyed said they would put their spare cash into savings; 71 percent would spend on home improvements and 68 percent would invest in stocks and mutual funds.

On job prospects, 62 percent of Nigerians said that their prospects are excellent or good, compared with the 56 percent recorded in Q3 2018. 79 percent of Nigerians, the same as the previous quarter, considered the state of their personal finances over the next 12 months as excellent or good.

“Consumer confidence in West Africa declined in the last quarter of 2018,” said Yannick Nkembe, Nielsen’s Market Lead for West Africa Emerging Markets. “However, it still falls on the positive side of the spectrum and we hope to see a rebound in confidence levels in 2019.”

Nielsen, a measurement and data analytics company, said the Q4 2018 report shows a diverse picture of consumer sentiment across West Africa. In Ghana, the liquidation of some banks, a weakening cedi and the high cost of credit led to a five-point decrease on the CCI to 108.

Only 58 percent of Ghanaians, according to the report, viewed their job prospects as excellent or good, representing six percentage points decrease from Q3 2018. Sentiment around the state of personal finances also dipped slightly. 67 percent of the Ghanaian respondents said that their state of personal finances would be excellent or good over the next year, compared with 76 percent recorded in the previous quarter.

For more than 90 years, Nielsen has provided data and analytics based on scientific rigour and innovation, continually developing ways to answer the most important questions facing the media, advertising, retail and fast-moving consumer goods industries. With its headquarters in the United States, Nielsen operates in over 100 countries, covering more than 90 percent of the world’s population.