UK consumer confidence starting to rise as lockdown ends
UK consumer confidence is slowly beginning to pick up as lockdown restrictions ease, a new survey has found.
According to Growth from Knowledge’s fourth flash report, consumer confidence increased three points over the last two weeks to -27.
The small rise comes after the index fell to its lowest ever levels of -36 last month.
GfK client strategy director Joe Staton said: “Despite the backdrop of dire warnings about the state of the economy, large-scale job losses, the end of furlough with the prospect of further unemployment, and a possible second-wave of Covid-19, consumers appear to be slightly more confident as lockdown loosens across parts of the UK”.
The overall score is based on five measures, four of which improved over the same period.
Although all remain negative at this point, Staton said that there were “early signs of improvement” in most of them.
The biggest rises were in the major purchase index, which rose seven points to -25, and in the 12-month general economic situation, which rose six points to -42.
Commenting on the former, Staton said: “The seven-point jump in the major purchase index could bode well for ‘reopening day’ this Saturday as more shoppers hit the high streets after a trip to the pub and visit to the hairdresser”.
General economic situation over the past 12 months was the only measure to decrease, falling one point.
Despite the early signs of improvement, Staton warned that the economy remained in an extremely fragile state.
“Economic headwinds could easily blow any recovery off-course with confidence remaining fragile and volatile amid few signs of stability”, he said.
The flash survey was conducted between 18-26 June and saw GfK interview 2,000 people.