As the global economy appears to be moving into a slower growth mode, what do consumers think? At The Conference Board we now have a unique instrument to take the temperature of consumer sentiment around the world on a quarterly basis.

The Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Index, produced in collaboration with Nielsen, provides data from an online survey of 500 household in 64 countries, in which consumers are asked about their job prospects, personal finance situation, and intention to spend over the next 12 months.

The results for the first quarter of 2019 show a slight decline in global consumer confidence to 106, down from 107 in the final quarter of 2018. Importantly, the Index still stands at a record-high level. Confidence may be peaking, however, suggesting global economic growth may gradually slow in the coming quarters. Overal, the most optimistic consumers are in North America and Asia-Pacific. More broadly, we see that confidence in emerging markets is still on a stronger trajectory than in mature economies, where it is leveling off.

You can find the rich detail by country and interpretation of the global consumer confidence data on our website.