With four weeks left to Christmas, there seems to be a feelgood factor returning to the high street, which is good news for retailers. Despite ongoing cost of living concerns, GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index increased six points in November compared to last month.
“Consumer confidence strengthened in November with improvements across all measures,” states GfK’s client strategy director Joe Staton. “Recent ups and downs in confidence have underlined the nation’s topsy-turvy economic mood as encouraging news about falling inflation and wage growth is offset by high personal taxation, alongside costly fuel and energy bills.”
However, looking at the positives he added: “Although the overall index score is still tracking firmly in negative territory, it is good to see that consumers are more optimistic about their personal financial situation. This shows people are thinking about their future with increased confidence and willingness to look beyond the short term. The dramatic 10 point jump in our major purchase sub-measure, reversing some of the worrying 14-point drop we saw last month, will be good news for retailers looking to benefit from Christmas. Despite the acute cost-of-living pressures, many would still like to loosen their purse strings just a little so they can enjoy that feelgood factor we all associate with the festive season.”
The research tracked ‘markers’ reflecting how consumers felt about their personal financial situation over the last 12 months; their personal financial situation over the next 12 months; the general economic situation over the last 12 months; the general economic situation over the next 12 months, as well as a major purchase index marker. The index score was 20 points higher than the score in November 2022.
Top: It is hoped that high streets will see a pre-Christmas boost as consumer confidence returns.
