Insight: consumer confidence remains stubbornly sub-zero
UK consumer confidence fell in July despite the feel-good factor generated by the heatwave and the World Cup.
Data from GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index shows that the index dropped by one point this month to -10.
Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said: “Despite the World Cup, Wimbledon and warm weather playing front and centre in the nation’s psyche this July, the barometer again reveals a decline in consumer confidence.”
GfK’s overall index score has now registered at zero or negative since February 2016 as people remain concerned about their personal financial situation and the general economic outlook.
Looking at the individual measures within the index for July, the measure for the forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months increased by one point to 7 this month.
Meanwhile, the measure for expectations for the general economic situation over the same period decreased by one point to -26.
In addition, the major purchase index dipped by two points to -2, which is one point lower than in July 2017.
Staton said: “In the medium-term and during the uncertainty in the run-up to the UK leaving the European Union in eight months, it is hard to forecast what kind of good news will change the numbers from negative to positive, or indeed where such good news would originate. There’s a heatwave in much of the UK but consumer confidence remains stubbornly sub-zero.”
Stay updated with the latest retail news for free by subscribing to the Retail Bulletin mailing list.
