NCSI begins consumer survey

Muscat: The National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) is organizing the Consumer Confidence Survey 2019 from December 15 to 19. The survey is intended to calculate the Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS), which is a key measure of the state of the economy, NCSI said. The survey, conducted over the phone, is designed to assess the degree of satisfaction among the citizens concerning the Sultanate’s current economic status as reflected by inflation, employment opportunities, investment climate, economic policies pursued by the government, and the cost of living, among others.

It also gauges the extent of public optimism regarding economic development in one year. The consumer confidence index is a reflection of the behaviour of consumers. An increase in customer spending leads to a rise in demand for various goods and services. This results in increased production and a rise in production facilities to meet that demand, which in turn aids the economic recovery process. On the contrary, a decline in consumer spending leads to an economic downturn. Thus, the consumer confidence index offers a futuristic idea about the direction of economic growth.

The sample size of the survey is 1,500, including Omani nationals aged 18 or above, distributed across 11 governorates. The survey error margin is limited to three per cent. The methodology and formula used by NCSI to calculate the consumer confidence index have been developed by the Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, USA, and is widely used by national governments across the world. This enables global comparisons of the index obtained.