Consumer confidence falls in September as new figures show retail sales edged up in August
Consumer confidence has declined in September as people look ahead to expected tax rises in November.
GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index has decreased by two points to -19 with all measures falling.
While the forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months is down one point at +4, GfK’s measure for expectations for the general economic situation has fallen by two points to -32; this is five points below September 2024
Meanwhile, GfK’s major purchase index is down three points at -16, which is is seven points better than this time last year.
Subscribe to TRBNeil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said “The August 7th decrease in interest rates does not appear to have provided any obvious boost to the financial mood of consumers or drawn attention away from day-to-day cost issues.
“Looking at the economy, sentiment is sliding sharply: in June 2024 our forward-looking measure stood at -11, but just 15 months later it has slumped to -32. Perceptions of the past year remain weak too, down three from last month to -45.
“With tax rises expected in the November budget, the risk is that confidence inevitably falls, just like the autumn leaves.”
The news comes as figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that retail sales volumes edged up 0.5% in August following an increase of 0.5% in July.
In its latest release, the ONS said clothing stores, butchers, bakers and online only retailers experienced growth, which some attributed to the month’s good weather.
