Consumer confidence hits record low in June
Consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level on record for a second month in a row.
GfK’s long-standing Consumer Confidence Index has dropped by one point to -41 this month.
Joe Staton, client strategy director, GfK said: “With a headline score of -41 for June, the GfK Consumer Confidence Barometer has set a record low for the second successive month.
“With prices rising faster than wages, and the prospect of strikes and spiralling inflation causing a summer of discontent, many will be surprised that the index has not dropped further.”
GfK’s index measuring expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months has declined by one point to -57, which is is 55 points lower than this time last year. Furthermore, the forecast for people’s personal finances over the same period has decreased by three points to -28.
Looking at GfK’s major purchase index, this has remained the same as in May at -35, but this is still 30 points lower than June last year.
Staton added: “The consumer mood is currently darker than in the early stages of the Covid pandemic, the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum, and even the shock of the 2008 global financial crisis, and now there’s talk of a looming recession.
“One thing is for sure, Britain faces a stark new economic reality and history shows that consumers will not hesitate to retrench and tighten their purse strings when the going gets tough.”
