UK consumer confidence turns negative

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Sep 15, 2022

UK consumer confidence has hit another low with the kind of fall not seen since the start of the pandemic, a new survey has shown.

The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research has a benchmark figure of 100, above which consumers are generally confident and below which, they feel more pessimistic. The index was down by 4.2 points last month dropping from 103 to 98.8. 

This was mainly a result of rampant inflation caused by high energy prices and other price rises that are making people extremely concerned about their prospects as the weather begins to cool.

That said, consumers are still generally positive about things like house prices and job security, although the sentiment in both these areas is on the way down. The reading for house prices was 124.9 (down 7.2 points) and the reading for job security was 118.5 (down 2.4 points).

That's important because it may govern how confident people feel about spending on discretionary items such as fashion and beauty. 

The survey was conducted before the new prime minister Liz Truss was formally announced and also before the energy prices support plan that she launched, so it will be interesting to see how the figures play out in September.