South African consumers on both extremes of the income scale are the most affected by the rapid rise in living expenses with pressure exacerbated by unprecedented levels of Eskom’s power cuts. This is according to the latest Consumer Default Index figures that track the marginal default rate for credit card, home, vehicle, personal and retail loan portfolios, published by credit bureau Experian on Thursday.
According to the CCI, confidence declined to -25 points during Q2 of 2023 – down from -23 points on a quarter on quarter review – the second lowest reading since the dawn of democracy. The economic outlook and suitability of the present time to buy durable goods sub-indices both deteriorated deeply into the negatives at -37 points and -35 points respectively.