We have been tracking the mood of the Irish nation since April 2009 - that's four years this issue. We have added in new questions relating to switching, Irishness and price sensitivity. Analyses include main supermarket, mobile network, electricity provider and TV service.
2. 2Economic Recovery Index
Four Years On
We’ve been tracking the mood of the nation
every month since April 2009.
This issue of our Economic Recovery Index
marks the fourth anniversary of the series.
We’d like to tell you things are much better
than in April 2009… but we can’t.
This month’s report shows that sentiment
deteriorated in April 2013 – with some indices
falling back to the lows we saw late last year.
We have taken on board your feedback and
added new series in relation to switching,
Irishness, price sensitivity and choice – we
hope you find it helpful… and hopeful.
3. 3Economic Recovery Index
The Emotional Recovery
We have been reporting our monthly
Economic Recovery Index since April 2009.
We set out four years ago to assess the
psychological impact of the recession and to
chart our ‘emotional progress’ towards
recovery alongside our ‘economic progress’.
This report summarises our Economic
Recovery Index results from April 2009 to
April 2013.
The most recent fieldwork was conducted
during 20th to 30th April 2013 inclusive.
We have now added historical tables to the
report following requests from a number of
readers.
4. 4Economic Recovery Index
A Matter of Measurement
Mar’13: 41% Apr’13: 46%
Mar’13: 29% Apr’13: 29%
Mar’13: 25% Apr’13: 22%
Mar’13: 5% Apr’13: 3%
Mar’13: 0% Apr’13: 0%
Every month we survey a representative, online sample of 1,000 adults and ask them to tell us
which one statement ‘best describes the economic situation in Ireland right now’ (listed below)
The steady improvement in our ERI measure since the start of the year has been reversed in
April 2013:
5. 5Economic Recovery Index
Using the answers to the question on ‘stages of recovery’ we have created the Economic
Recovery Index, which ranges from 0 to 100 (0 = deep recession; 100 = back to peak).
Our ERI index in April 2013 stood at 20.3 – losing most of the gains since December 2012:
The Economic Recovery Index
Source: Amárach Research, April 2013
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Apr'09
Jun
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan'10
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan'11
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan'12
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan'13
Feb
Mar
Apr
6. 6Economic Recovery Index
ERI Summary Tables I
Which one statement ‘best describes the economic situation in Ireland right now’?
% choosing each statement:
%
The economic
situation in
Ireland is
getting worse
The economic
situation is bad
but has
stabilized
The economic
situation is bad
but showing a
few signs of
improvement
The economic
situation is
getting better
and showing
clear signs of
improvement
The economic
situation is
good and
almost fully
recovered
Economic
Recovery
Index
Apr-09 77 14 8 1 0 8.3
Apr-10 38 34 25 2 1 23.8
Apr-11 51 27 19 2 1 18.2
Apr-12 49 27 21 3 0 19.4
Mar-13 41 29 25 5 0 24.0
Apr-13 46 29 22 3 0 20.3
7. 7Economic Recovery Index
ERI Summary Tables II
% agree strongly/slightly with selected statements:
%
Ireland will be
through the
worst of the
recession in
12 months
time
I feel I am
financially
comfortable
enough to
make it
through the
recession
I am optimistic
in spite of the
current
economic
situation
Right now it
seems like the
recession is
affecting other
people more
than it is
affecting me
Apr-09 34 48 57 59
Apr-10 43 47 52 53
Apr-11 24 39 47 48
Apr-12 31 42 51 50
Mar-13 30 40 44 47
Apr-13 25 35 40 44
8. 8Economic Recovery Index
ERI Summary Tables III
% agree strongly/slightly with selected statements:
%
I am more
relaxed about
spending
money than I
was a few
months ago
I am saving a
lot more than
before
because of the
recession
My main
financial
priority is to
pay off my
debts as
quickly as
possible
I would be
happy to
borrow money
from a bank if I
need to
Apr-09 15 n/a n/a n/a
Apr-10 21 28 59 31
Apr-11 14 27 58 24
Apr-12 20 30 59 28
Mar-13 19 27 53 25
Apr-13 15 23 57 21
9. 9Economic Recovery Index
NEW: Price Sensitive I
% of Irish adults who agree/disagree with the statement:
“I always buy the lowest price products or services”
Source: Amárach Research, April 2013
April 2013 TOTAL Male Female
Under
25
25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Dublin
AB
C1
C2
DE
Weighted Sample 1000 494 506 169 223 187 156 265 279 477 523
Strongly Agree 30% 23% 37% 36% 31% 37% 28% 23% 28% 23% 37%
Slightly Agree 27% 25% 28% 32% 20% 24% 36% 25% 26% 31% 22%
Neither/Nor 17% 22% 13% 15% 19% 15% 14% 21% 22% 19% 15%
Slightly Disagree 16% 19% 13% 9% 14% 16% 15% 22% 16% 16% 16%
Strongly Disagree 5% 4% 5% 1% 7% 4% 4% 6% 4% 5% 4%
17. 17Economic Recovery Index
The Mood of the Nation 1
Did you experience any of these feelings a lot of the day yesterday?
% saying Yes: April 2009 to April 2013
Source: Amárach Research, April 2013
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Apr'09
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr'10
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr'11
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr'12
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan-13
Feb
Mar
Apr
Enjoyment Happiness Stress Worry
18. 18Economic Recovery Index
The Mood of the Nation 2
Did you experience any of these feelings a lot of the day yesterday?
% saying Yes: April 2009 to April 2013
Source: Amárach Research, April 2013
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Apr'09
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan'10
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan'11
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan'12
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan'13
Feb
Mar
Apr
Anxiety Sadness Pain Anger
19. 19Economic Recovery Index
Emotions Summary Table
% Enjoyment
Happ-
iness
Stress Worry Anxiety Sadness Pain Anger
Apr-09 62 56 40 32 27 15 18 13
Apr-10 55 54 44 37 31 17 24 16
Apr-11 55 52 44 37 27 18 19 13
Apr-12 54 55 45 40 30 18 26 15
Mar-13 54 52 45 41 31 22 24 20
Apr-13 52 49 47 45 30 19 25 18
Did you experience any of these feelings a lot of the day yesterday?
% saying Yes:
20. 20Economic Recovery Index
Changing Moods I
Source: Amárach Research, April 2013
April 2013 TOTAL Male Female
Under
25
25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Dublin
AB
C1
C2
DE
Weighted Sample 1000 494 506 169 223 187 156 265 279 477 523
Enjoyment 52% 54% 50% 53% 46% 39% 55% 63% 51% 56% 48%
Happiness 49% 48% 51% 59% 53% 39% 46% 50% 46% 54% 45%
Stress 47% 43% 50% 50% 55% 54% 51% 30% 53% 45% 48%
Worry 45% 40% 50% 46% 49% 46% 50% 37% 44% 43% 47%
Anxiety 30% 29% 32% 31% 30% 28% 39% 26% 29% 32% 29%
Boredom 30% 31% 29% 51% 35% 26% 23% 18% 29% 27% 32%
Physical Pain 25% 22% 27% 20% 22% 25% 28% 27% 25% 22% 27%
Sadness 19% 16% 21% 21% 20% 18% 18% 16% 17% 17% 20%
Anger 18% 19% 17% 20% 24% 20% 13% 11% 17% 17% 18%
Fear 13% 12% 13% 9% 15% 20% 14% 7% 14% 12% 14%
Did you experience any of these feelings a lot of the day yesterday?
% saying Yes: April 2013
21. 21Economic Recovery Index
Changing Moods II
Source: Amárach Research, April 2013
April 2013 TOTAL Tesco
Dunne
Stores
Sky UPC
EBS
Electric
Ireland
Bord
Gais
Airtricity O2 Vodafone Meteor
Weighted Sample 1000 342 153 447 225 496 205 267 226 367 199
Enjoyment 52% 51% 57% 51% 56% 54% 50% 49% 54% 57% 49%
Happiness 49% 52% 54% 49% 51% 50% 51% 47% 52% 51% 46%
Stress 47% 44% 48% 49% 47% 45% 52% 44% 40% 46% 48%
Worry 45% 45% 42% 47% 46% 46% 49% 41% 43% 45% 48%
Anxiety 30% 30% 30% 34% 29% 30% 35% 28% 29% 32% 26%
Boredom 30% 34% 25% 30% 30% 32% 28% 26% 28% 26% 39%
Physical Pain 25% 27% 21% 27% 23% 24% 24% 25% 29% 23% 25%
Sadness 19% 16% 19% 20% 15% 19% 17% 19% 17% 16% 24%
Anger 18% 18% 19% 17% 17% 18% 14% 21% 20% 17% 16%
Fear 13% 13% 17% 12% 12% 13% 17% 10% 13% 13% 12%
Did you experience any of these feelings a lot of the day yesterday?
% saying Yes: April 2013 (x main bank/supermarket/electricity)
22. 22Economic Recovery Index
ERI Resources
We have created a dedicated resource
on the Amárach website for those
interested in exploring our Economic
Recovery Index further.
It includes links to previous issues as
well as to a spreadsheet containing
monthly values for all the component
parts of the ERI – and more besides –
going right back to April 2009.
There is also a link to a special data
visualisation facility we have created in
partnership with Delphi Analytics.
23. Drivers & Drinking
About Amárach
Amárach Research is an independent market
research agency, providing a full range of
research services to our Irish and international
clients. Amárach specialises in turning
information into insight; and insight into foresight.
Amárach’s experienced team of 30 directors and
executives manage online, face-to-face and cati
surveys (through our call centre); as well as
qualitative research including focus groups, in-
depths and ethnographic studies. We also
delivers a world class field-only service to
universities and international agencies.
Over nearly 25 years, Amárach has pioneered
innovative research techniques and reported on
Irish social, lifestyle and tech trends since the
1980s. Amárach invests heavily in understanding
current Irish consumer and business trends, and
shares numerous, free reports and presentations
via our blog and slideshare sites, linked via our
main website: www.amarach.com
24. Trends Report
Call us on 01 410 5200 if you want your business to
bounce forward to success:
Mark Nolan Managing Director
or Michael McLoughlin Chief Executive
or Gerard O’Neill Chairman
for a confidential discussion about your needs and to
explore how we can help you succeed through world
class market research.
e. gerard.oneill@amarach.com
w. www.amarach.com
b. www.amarach.com/blog
t. twitter.com/AmarachResearch