GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index stayed at the same level in January 2019, at -14. Two measures increased, two measures decreased, and the Major Purchase Index, which measures willingness to buy big-tocket items, stayed at the same level, at +2 – one point higher YoY.
However, the general economic outlook sentiment for the nation hit a seven-year low.
Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, says: “With the Overall Index Score stuck at -14 this month, UK consumers remain in a ‘wait and see’ holding pattern in the face of political chaos in Westminster. Although we’re feeling slightly more confident about our personal finances – thanks to the effect of strong employment, low interest and inflation rates, and rising household incomes – concerns about the wider economic prospects for the country continue to weigh and depress the Overall Index Score.
"We have a -39 for ‘General Economic Situation over the next 12 months’ – the lowest for more than seven years, and getting close to the levels we saw at the end of 2008 and in early 2009. This is unsurprising given that consumers, companies and corporations thrive on certainty, which is in short supply just two months before the planned date for the UK’s EU-exit. The next few months promise to be turbulent for the consumer, so will this measure for the economic outlook in the coming year drop even further?”
