Consumer confidence falls at fastest pace since Brexit vote, excluding Covid
Consumer confidence has fallen in October at its fastest pace since the 2016 Brexit vote, excluding the Covid pandemic.
The GfK Consumer Confidence Index has dropped by 11 points to -24, with all measures decreasing compared with last month’s announcement.
Subscribe to TRBNeil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, an NIQ Company, said: “There has been an extraordinary collapse in consumer confidence in October, down 11 points to -24. The last time we saw an 11-point drop was in July 2016, following the Brexit vote. In recent years, only the onset of the COVID pandemic saw a larger fall (down 25 points).”
The figures show that the index for personal finances over the next 12 months has fallen eight points to -3, six points lower than at the same time last year.
The measure for expectations for the general economic situation over the same period has dropped 14 points to -36, which is six points below October last year.
Meanwhile, the major purchase index has fallen by 14 points to -22 in October, down 10 points from a year earlier.
Bellamy said: “While all measures are lower, the two largest decreases are in expectations for the wider UK economy in the coming year and the intention to make major purchases, both slumping by 14 points.
“With no single major economic event driving the decline, and with weakness seen across the full spectrum of income, age and gender demographic groups, these are damaging findings given the UK government’s priority of economic growth.”
He added: “Relentless cost-of-living pressures, against an international backdrop of unresolved regional conflicts that are themselves contributing to domestic inflation now at 3.5%, appear to have swept aside the nascent optimism we saw following the appointment of a new UK prime minister this summer.
“Headline consumer confidence is now back to the level seen in April, May and June of this year and the summer’s buoyant mood has evaporated. The speed of this deterioration is alarming.”
