(AFP Photo)
A survey conducted by the Mastercard Worldwide Insights index between July and August 2014 has found Egyptian consumers to be very optimistic.
The index revealed that consumer confidence in the country reached a very high level of 78.6 out of 100 points.
The survey was organised by MasterCard, using a sample of 12,205 respondents between the ages of 18-64. The survey analysed 27 countries from the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions.
The index measures five main aspects and according to the recent results Egyptian consumers are more optimistic than they were last year.
“Consumer confidence has grown significantly since the new presidential elections in 2013,” said Magdy Hassan, MasterCard Egypt country manager. “The country is slowly beginning to get back on track and achieve more economic stability.”
The study also showed that better expectations about the coming months were more visible in female respondents as their confidence levels extended to 84.8, whereas males’ consumer confidence reached 75.8. The older generation was found to be more optimistic than the younger generation, where consumers older than 45 years scored 82.8 and younger respondents scored 75.8.
The survey for the consumer confidence index is conducted every six months, asking respondents to give their six month outlook on the economy, the local stock market, employment prospects, their quality of life and their regular income prospects.
According to previous results, since 2011 Egypt’s highest level of consumer confidence was reached in the second half of 2012 where results reached 90.7. The second biggest was at the first half of the same year reaching 88.3 and the third is of this year where the level of confidence became 78.6.
