Netherlands - Consumer Confidence

The consumer confidence survey for the Netherlands is designed to provide information about consumers' opinions about their personal financial situation, as well as gener economic developments.  It is also intended to determine short-term positive or negative changes in private consumption.

From 1972 to 1983, consumer confidence data was collected via questionnaire.  From January 1984, data was collected by telephone interview, as well as an increase in the frequency of surveys from three time a year to four.  As of April 1986, one thousand households are contacted and interviewed on a monthly basis for the survey, and an additional register was used from July 2007 on to maintain the quality of the research and survey data.

There are three major consumer indicators that have been formulated since the survey's inception:

Consumer confidence - The balance of positive and negative responses calculated, expressed as a percentage of the total responses per month. This value can range from -100 to +100, with 0 representing an equal number of positive and negative respondents. Because of this, any response that is Neutral or of the category "do not know" is not taken into account.

Economic climate - A component indicator of consumer confidence. Economic is calculated as an average from the balance of positive and negative reponses to two questions about the general economy, and expressed as a percentage. This value can range from -100 to +100, with 0 representing an equal number of positive and negative respondents. Because of this, any response that is Neutral or of the category "do not know" is not taken into account.

Willingness to buy - A component indicator of consumer confidence. Willingness to buy is calculated as an average of the balance of positive and negative reponses to five sub questions, expressed as a percentage. This value can range from -100 to +100, with 0 representing an equal number of positive and negative respondents. Because of this, any response that is Neutral or of the category "do not know" is not taken into account.

Seasonally adjusted series - Only contains monthly data due to the fact that in order to best determine trends and allow for more accurate comparisons, larger periods of time cannot be used. The seasonal adjustment is implemented each year in January, so recent results may vary from those in earlier publications.

Quarterly and annual data is re-weighted.  However, Monthly data is not re-weighted because non-responsive households cause a variance in the number of interviews from month to month.