UK consumer confidence up in July, still down on pre-Brexit levels

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Aug 23, 2016

July saw an improvement in consumer confidence in the UK, after it collapsed in June.

Verdict Retail, which surveyed 2,000 UK consumers, said that its future sentiment index, which looks at views towards the economy, personal finances and future retail spending, recovered just over half of its initial fall from June. However, it's still strongly negative. Overall views on the UK's economic outlook strengthened by 10.9% in June - but London recorded a more negative view on the future of the economy compared to June, the only region to do so.

The visiting shops index, which shows how frequently consumers are visiting the shops, reached the second highest level seen in the past twelve months. Verdict says this could be down to a rise in discounting by retailers.

Just below half - 49% - of UK consumers still expect a worsening of the economy over the next six months, which suggests Brexit has made consumers feel more negative about the future of their and the country's finances. However, present sentiment is still optimistic, reaching its highest level seen in 2016 in July.

"While the Brexit impact will linger for the foreseeable future, it is encouraging to see that consumers are relatively more positive than last month. The swift appointment of a new Prime Minister is likely to have helped eliminate some of the uncertainty that was felt in the month prior. However, consumer confidence is still some way from reaching pre-Brexit levels." Zoe Mills, Analyst at Verdict Retail, comments.