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01/12/2009 -
Canadian businesses may soon get more use out of their merchant account than they have in recent months as consumers become more confident and optimistic in the economy, as indicated by the results of a recent survey.In its first Canadian Consumer Outlook index, released Tuesday, the Royal Bank of Canada found that 62 percent of Canadian consumers expect the economy to improve in the next year, compared to just 14 percent who expect it to worsen.
However, spending plans are still on hold as consumers struggle to improve their personal finances. Yet they are optimistic - 39 percent of Canadians say that their personal financial situation is worse than it was three months ago, but 38 percent expect it to improve in the next year.
"Recovery is in sight for the world economy," said Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist for RBC. "We're off to a slow start but the economy will start to build steam and unemployment will reach its peak early next year and then fall off."
However, these results stand in contrast to another recent consumer confidence index, this one from the Nielsen Company, which indicated that merchants should dust off their POS terminals sooner rather than later - 41 percent of Canadians surveyed reported now was a good or excellent time to make purchases.
