Survey shows that consumer confidence reaches an 18 month high
November 2009
The British Retail Consortium’s monthly consumer confidence index, published with market research company Nielsen, is at 75 - some 10 points higher than the all-time low of 65 recorded in April. This indicates that consumer confidence has reached its highest level for 18 months, despite consumers remaining anxious about unemployment and other uncertainties that may lie ahead as the UK economy emerges from recession.
The survey shows that confidence lags behind the levels reported two or three years ago, but the BRC said that this improvement would be encouraging to retailers.
Stephen Robertson a director from BRC said: “These figures suggest it will be a long, slow climb out of recession for many customers but some do now have their feet on the first rung of the ladder.
“There’s no question the general mood of customers is better than a year ago, when conditions were dire, but improvement has been slow so far.”
Over three quarters (77%) of consumers rated job prospects as “bad” or “not so good” which seems to be the main drag factor on confidence.
1 in 5 people think that job prospects will be “good” or “excellent” over the coming year which compares well with the 14% who felt that way in June 2009.
Worries around unemployment, the survey suggests, mean that people who are in employment are working harder. The survey also suggests that this is leading to a concern over work/life balance. 9% now say this is their biggest concern compared to only 4% 12months ago.
Michelle Williams from Artemis Solutions Group who specialise in the retail sector comments “This survey is broadly good news for the retail sector and the economy in general. Once fears around unemployment start to subside then I see confidence growing rapidly.”
Justin Sargent, MD of Nielsen comments: “This latest poll shows that the confidence of the nation continues to improve, though consumers remain very guarded and we are still a long way from the confidence levels we saw prior to the economic meltdown.”
