Botswana consumers say times are hard — and expect next year to be better
Measured monthly from BasketIQ's receipt panel · 147 responses · August 2026 first reading
Consumer Confidence Score
BaselineMean of the Job Market, Household Finances, and Spending Comfort scores.
Financial Outlook Index
BaselineExpected household finances 12 months from now (better = 100, same = 50, worse = 0).
The 56-point gap is the story. 82% say finding a job is very difficult and 60% are uncomfortable spending on non-essentials — yet 76% expect their household to be better off a year from now. Panelists are pessimistic about the economy today and strikingly optimistic about their own trajectory.
The three components
Job Market
5.9How easy it is to find a job right now.
Household Finances
36.6Ability to make ends meet today.
Spending Comfort
33.0Comfort with non-essential purchases.
How each question scored
Each answer maps to a frozen 0–100 scale. n = 147 per question.
Q1 · How easy is it to find a job right now?
Mean 5.9 — the floor of the series
Q2 · Household finances — making ends meet
Mean 36.6
Q3 · Comfort with non-essential purchases
Mean 33.0
Q4 · Household finances a year from now
Outlook Index 81.6
Food-budget pressure predicts sentiment better than income
Among the 116 respondents who also completed the Household Profile survey, the share of the budget going to groceries is the cleanest gradient in the data: the more of the budget food takes, the worse today feels and the dimmer next year looks. Income shows the same direction, but flatter and noisier.
Under 25% of spend on groceries · n=15
25–50% of spend on groceries · n=60
50–75% of spend on groceries · n=34
Over 75% of spend on groceries · n=7 (directional)
Who answered
67% households of 3+
82% with children under 18
67% income under P5,000
65% groceries biggest expense
Edition schedule
How we measure
How scores are computed
Each answer to the three current-conditions questions maps to a frozen 0–100 scale (best answer = 100, worst = 0). The Consumer Confidence Score is the mean of the three per-question means. The Financial Outlook Index scores better = 100, same = 50, worse = 0.
Who is on the panel
Consumers on BasketIQ's receipt panel — real Botswana households that upload their supermarket till slips via WhatsApp. The survey runs on the web, delivered through a personal WhatsApp link. This first reading: 147 completed responses, a partial panel skewed toward engaged members; September fields the full panel from day one.
Fielding window
The 1st to the 10th of every month, with question wording and answer scales frozen for the life of the series — that consistency is what makes month-over-month movement meaningful. Quarterly editions roll up three monthly waves.
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