Consumers feeling cheery ahead of the Christmas shopping season
Consumer confidence is looking up ahead of the biggest quarter for retailers – the Christmas season.
Consumers are shaking off the Brexit blues and feeling more positive about their earnings before Christmas, according to a report from PwC.
PwC said 19 per cent of respondents in its consumer survey said they expect to be better off in the next 12 months than they were this year – up from 15 per cent in July.
Read more: London Remainers drag down consumer confidence in the capital
Six per cent said they were much better off than last year, compared to five per cent in July.
The improvement comes after an immediate drop in confidence that followed the outcome of the Brexit vote in June.
Londoners feel the most confident, with 40 per cent of respondents in the capital saying they expect to be better off in a year.
Read more: Lobby group urges government to keep consumer costs low post-Brexit
But despite this, a third of survey respondents said they planned to spend less this Christmas, and only 10 per cent said they plan to spend more. Six per cent of people said they weren't going to buy any Christmas presents at all.
Lisa Hooker, partner at PwC, said: "This year sees consumers across all age groups and regions saying that they will spend the same amount or less than last year on Christmas.
"However, this contrasts with our finding that consumers expect to be better off, so we do not expect this sentiment necessarily to reflect in worse retail sales over the critical festive trading period."