Ads
Published
Sep 29, 2017
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

UK consumer confidence stays buoyant says GfK

Published
Sep 29, 2017

British shoppers are continuing to surprise analysts and are still feeling relatively confident, despite predictions that higher prices, Brexit uncertainty and low wage growth would lead them to cut back on spending by this autumn.


UK consumers are still flocking to the shops



Instead, the latest GfK consumer confidence survey for September shows consumers in a “defiant” mood and still spending.

GfK said shoppers are dipping into their savings and are also borrowing despite (or perhaps because of) hints of an interest rate rise to come soon.

This all fed into a one-point rise in GfK’s headline Consumer Confidence for the latest month, following a two-point rise in August.

Not that UK consumers are brimming with confidence as the index is still at -9 even after the two rises. But that’s still above the level that could have been expected given the economic backdrop.

For retailers, what it all adds up to is a consumer who’s prepared to spend and even to get into debt to do so but who is also very price-conscious and, perhaps, needs to feel that they’re getting a compelling offer or something unique. It’s certainly not the fodder for a spending boom.

Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, said: “Consumers appear to be in a mixed mood, with some confidence measures up and others down, yet there’s a strong note of defiance. Consumers are still spending out there, and have repeatedly defied predictions of a downturn since last year’s Brexit vote, partly by running down savings and/or borrowing more.”

So where is this ”mixed mood showing up? Well, there’s clearly some confidence when it comes to views and intentions for the period ahead, as well as nervousness.

Expectations for the General Economic Situation over the next 12 months rose three points to -24, yet that’s firmly in negative territory and is 15 points lower than a year ago. But the Major Purchase Index rose one point this month. That took it into positive territory at +1, but that eight points lower than a year ago. And the Savings Index fell three points to +3, albeit 12 points higher than a year ago.

The forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months fell too, but only by one point to +4, although this is three points lower than September 2016’s +7.

It’s all a bit confusing and the backward-looking measures don’t really help either. The index measuring changes in personal finances in the last 12 months fell three points to -1 and the measure for the General Economic Situation of the UK during the last 12 months rose two points to -28, 12 points down year-on-year.

Copyright © 2024 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.