Sample

Each iteration of CCS covers over 1,500 households contacted via landline across Pakistan. Since January 2023, the survey has been conducted monthly; prior to that, it was carried out every two months during the first half of odd-numbered months. The sampling design employs single-stage stratification by geographical region, ensuring representation across all demographic segments through population-proportionate allocation.

The survey follows a rotating panel methodology, wherein 33% of respondents are revisited from six months earlier, while the remaining 67% comprise newly selected households. This stratification approach is consistently applied to both returning and new participants, maintaining the survey's representativeness over time.

Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS)-Index Construction


1. Computation of the Diffusion Index

The results of the CCS are reported in the form of a Diffusion Index (DI). The DI shows the general tendency of respondents about a certain aspect of a particular survey. The questionnaire for this survey offers following five types of options to the respondents for their views on each question.

Sr. No.	Answer Options	Assigned score
1	PP = Very positive	1
2	P = Positive	0.5
3	E = Unchanged/neutral	0
4	N = Negative	-0.5
5	NN = Very negative	-1

On the basis of these five options, the Diffusion Index is computed in the following two steps:

Step 1: Net Response (NR) is computed as below:

NR = {(1.00 * PP) + (0.05 * p) + (-0.50 * N) + (-1.00 * NN)}

Step 2: The diffusion index is computed as follows:

DI = (NR + 100)/2

2. How to interpret the index?

The diffusion index ranges from the minimum value of 0 to the maximum value of 100 i.e. a value of 50 is indicative of neutrality, 0 no confidence and 100 indicates extreme confidence. So in general:

• DI > 50 indicates that Positive views are more than Negative views;
• DI = 50 indicates that Positive views and Negative views are equal;
• DI < 50 indicates that Positive views are less than the Negative views

3. Consumer Confidence Index

Index	Question description
Current Economic Conditions (CEC)	- How do you assess present financial position of your family compared to the last twelve months?
	- How do you assess present general economic condition of the country compared to the last twelve months?
	- In your opinion, compared to the last twelve months, how do you see the current time for buying durable goods such as furniture, refrigerator, television etc.?
Expected Economic Conditions (EEC)	- How do you expect your financial position to change over the next twelve months from now?
	- How do you expect general economic conditions in the country to develop over the next twelve months from now?
	- What do you think will happen to unemployment over the next twelve months from now?
Consumer Confidence Index	-Averages of current and expected ecnomic indices

It is important to note that the reference period for all questions in the CCS was six months until June 2025. From July 2025 onward, this has been extended to a twelve-month horizon to improve comparability with international surveys and strengthen forward-looking assessments.

4. Inflation Expectations

The quantitative Inflation expectations are measured using the following question:
Q: By what percentage do you expect prices to change over the next twelve months? ___%

Prior to July 2025, the inflation expectations were captured through a different format:
Q: What do you think will be the price of a product currently costing Rs. 100 in the next six months? Rs. _______

The revision was made to align with international best practices and improve the comparability and interpretability of inflation expectations data.