ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence dropped 1 point to 83.5 over the last week as Black Friday sales begin kicking in.
ANZ economist Sophia Angala said the fall follows the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to hold interest rates at 3.6 per cent last week.
“Weekly inflation expectations’ remained elevated,” Angala said. “While underlying inflation picked up in Q3, the RBA noted some of this outcome was due to ‘temporary factors’ and expects the broader disinflation process to continue.”
Consumer confidence is now 3.2 points lower than a year ago and is 3 points below the 2025 weekly average of 86.5.
Roy Morgan and ANZ noted that the index was lower due to small declines in confidence about the Australian economy over the next five years and whether now is a good or bad time to buy a major household item.
A fifth of Australians (21 per cent – down 1ppt) now say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to an increasing plurality of 44 per cent (up 2ppts) that say their families are ‘worse off’.
Views on personal finances over the next year improved this week with 28 per cent (up 2ppts) of respondents expecting their family will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 31 per cent (down 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’.
Net sentiment regarding the economy over the next year was unchanged this week with 8 per cent (down 2ppts) of Australians, expecting ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months compared to 30 per cent (down 2ppts) that expect ‘bad times’.
Meanwhile, views regarding the Australian economy in the longer-term were down from a week ago with 10 per cent (down 2ppts) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 27 per cent (up 1ppt) expecting ‘bad times’.
Buying intentions also deteriorated this week with 20 per cent (down 1ppt) of respondents saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items compared to 37 per cent (up 2ppts) that say now is a ‘bad time to buy major household items’.
Angala added that buying intentions have slipped to its lowest level since early May this year.
“Upcoming sales events such as Black Friday should provide some support to household spending, but last week’s RBA hold may soften spending growth over the near term.
“Solid income growth, broader disinflation, and the final 25bp RBA rate cut we expect in February 2026 should provide momentum to the consumer recovery over the next few quarters.
Across the states, consumer confidence was down in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, but up in Victoria and Western Australia.