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UK consumer confidence declined in September, a tracker released on Thursday showed, setting the stage for a possibly ‘turbulent few months’ for retailers.
According to the British Retail Consortium’s consumer sentiment monitor, expectations for personal finances, saving, personal spending and the state of the economy for the next three months declined.
The personal financial situation tracker fell to negative 6 points in September from positive 1 point in August. The personal saving index fell to negative 9 from August’s negative 4.
The index tracking the assessment on the state of the economy fell ‘significantly’ to minus 21 this month from minus 8 in August.
The ‘personal spending overall’ tracker fell marginally to positive 10 points in September from 11 in August, though the ‘personal spending on retail’ index improved slightly to negative 8 from negative 9.
The data, made public for the first time on Thursday and set to be released monthly thereafter, is compiled using data from the BRC and insights company Opinium.
‘Retailers could face a turbulent few months as consumer confidence fell significantly in September. Negative publicity surrounding the state of the UK’s finances appears to have damaged confidence in the economic outlook, particularly among older generations. Despite this, expectations for future retail spending, while negative, did not yet appear to have been adversely affected, with many consumers expecting to reduce the amount they save instead,’ BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson commented.
‘The budget is a key opportunity to inject some confidence back into the economy, boosting spending and helping to foster much needed investment by businesses.’
Data for next month will be released on October 31.
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