Major purchase confidence slumps to new low
October 24, 2022
The GfK survey that tracks consumer confidence on "big-ticket" items like furniture and flooring has fallen 3 more points to minus 41 for October - the lowest figure it has recorded since May 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
Overall consumer confidence showed a marginal improvement, up 2 points to minus 47, as UK consumers grapple with ‘new abnormal’ amid uncertainty and turmoil.
Joe Staton, Client Strategy Director, GfK comments: "“UK consumer confidence continued to bump along close to last month’s historic low, with an Overall Index Score of -47 in October. However, all core measures remain severely depressed. The three-point fall in the major purchase measure continues a steep downward trend that began in July 2021 and is especially worrying for the final quarter of the year, which many businesses rely on to strengthen their balance sheets."
The researchers say the biggest danger by is inflation, now rising at its fastest rate for 40 years. Warning of a long, hard winter, Joe added: "Households are not just running scared of burgeoning energy and food prices, and the prospect of further base rate rises increasing mortgage costs. They are now facing the likelihood of tax rises and even austerity measures.
"For ordinary consumers, this web of uncertainty and turmoil amounts to a ‘new abnormal’. The negative environment will deflate future spending plans, and cautious consumers could easily slow the UK economy still further," he said.
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