Consumer confidence drops this month despite shoppers still being in the mood to spend
New figures have shown that consumer confidence has declined this month despite consumers saying they are not afraid to spend.
GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index has decreased by two points to -3.
While the index measuring the forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months fell by one point to 6, the index measuring consumers’ expectations for the general economic situation over the next year decreased by eight points to -17.
However, the index measuring the climate for major purchases rose by five points to 14. This is seven points higher than the same time last year.
Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, said: “Despite the continuing feel-good factor arising from persistent low interest and inflation rates, sterling’s sharp decline is arguably stoking fears that price rises will hit UK living standards hard next year.
“However, views on the state of our personal financial situation for the past year and next continue to remain positive (when comparing with 2015 levels), underlining that we feel more optimistic about situations we can control.
“This month also continues the upward trend on spending intentions with high levels of agreement in the Major Purchase Index. This shows that many consumers agree now is the right time for people to spend.”
