Tighter finances and property tax fears dampen consumer sentiment

Fears of rising costs, the property tax, and unemployment are putting pressure on people’s spending power and keeping consumer confidence low.

UCD’s Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and the Marketing Institute’s latest consumer monitor for the first quarter of this year pointed to rising costs, high unemployment, and new taxes keeping confidence low.

It showed that a slight drop occurred in February and March of this year due to concern about the impact of the new property tax and cuts to household finances.