Consumer confidence increased by two points in October to -47, new data reveals.
GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index shows that three measures of confidence were up, one was flat, and one decreased in comparison to last month’s (23 September) announcement.
Joe Staton, Client Strategy Director at GfK, said: “The biggest danger by far is inflation, now rising at its fastest rate for 40 years. Households are not just running scared of burgeoning energy and food prices, and the prospect of further base rate rises increasing mortgage costs. They are now facing the likelihood of tax rises and even austerity measures. For ordinary consumers, this web of uncertainty and turmoil amounts to a ‘new abnormal’.
“The negative environment will deflate future spending plans, and cautious consumers could easily slow the UK economy still further. Consumers, like governments, are just as capable of U-turns, and today’s economic headwinds indicate a long hard winter.”
This month’s survey was conducted among a sample of 2,001 people aged 16-years-old and over.
