Most Nigerians likely to avoid spending like Hushpuppi in 2021, says CBN report

By Kadiri Abdulrahman

Most Nigerian consumers are not likely to purchase expensive or luxury items in 2021., according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Consumer Expectations Survey (CES).

The report for December 2020 was released by the Statistics Department of the apex bank on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the report, most consumers believed that the next one year would not be ideal for the purchase of high-costing items like vehicles and houses.

CBN said that most respondents to the survey expected the Naira to appreciate, while inflation rate would rise.

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Borrowing rate will also rise in the next 12 months, in the expectation of people surveyed.

According to the report, the overall buying intention index in the next 12 months stood at 29.9 index points, indicating that most consumers do not intend to buy big-ticket items in the next 12 months.

The report reads, “The consumers’ overall confidence outlook was pessimistic in Q4 2020 standing at -14.8 index points.

“Consumers attributed this unfavourable outlook to declining economic conditions, family financial situation and declining family income.

“Most consumers expect that prices of goods and services will rise in the next 12 months, with an index of 43.1 points – largely driven by savings, food and other household needs.

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“Consumers generally expect the unemployment rate to rise in the next one year, with unemployment index for the next 12 months remaining positive at 36.9 points in Q4 2020.’’