Retail

UK consumer confidence rises by three points for Dec 2019

26 Dec '19

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

GfK’s UK consumer confidence index has increased three points to –11 for December. Four measures increased and one measure decreased this month. Observing a clear sense of a change in such sentiment this month, GfK said the picture for 2020 is much stronger with a two-point improvement in how consumers view their personal financial prospects.

There is also a very healthy seven-point jump on how they see the wider economy next year.

"We haven’t seen such a robust increase in confidence about our economic future since the summer of 2016. Despite official warning signs about the flat-lining of Britain’s economy, we know that record high employment and below target levels of inflation are helping to boost consumers’ expectations for the year ahead. Importantly, for the retail sector, we also have an upwards revision in our Major Purchase Index, a key figure during the remaining shopping days of 2019,” Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said in a statement.

"The Overall Index Score has failed to break into positive territory for the past four years due to confusion and uncertainty about the future direction of the UK. A great many people will be gazing into their crystal balls right now; ours indicates a rebound in confidence in 2020 based on renewed optimism and energy for a post-Brexit Britain,” he added.

The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last 12 months has increased three points this month to -31; this is the same as December 2018.

Expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months have increased seven points to -27; this is 11 points higher than December 2018.

The major purchase index increased three points in December to +3; this is one point higher than December 2018.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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