Consumer confidence fell to -21 in February, with shoppers worried about news of persistently high inflation and a recession.
After three months of growth, the GFK consumer confidence index came to a standstill in February, falling by two percentage points.
Looking to the future GFK noted that the outlook for personal finances going forward is encouraging. The **value for the next 12 months remains unchanged at 0, 18 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
Joe Staton, Director of Customer Strategy at GFK, said: "February's bad news and good news are intertwined. The bad news is that the improvement in the overall index score in recent months stalled slightly in February due to a decline in most indicators.
The good news, though, is that our optimism about our personal finances over the next 12 months has not faded. Despite being registered again with zero, this is a significant improvement from the -18 score in February last year. This indicator is crucial for understanding the country's financial sentiment, as confident households are more likely to spend despite the cost-of-living crisis.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see the impact of the upcoming budget on taxes and inflation. These are important questions for everyone – especially in an election year. Recent economic performance will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the ballot box. All measures in February this year were better than they were a year ago, but consumer confidence alone will not lead us to a brighter economic future. ”
Recent RetailX consumer research reveals which sectors could be hit if consumer confidence remains subdued. Of those surveyed, 30% of shoppers plan to spend less on luxury items, while nearly 43% expect to spend more on groceries.