Rising costs and talk of falling property values have pushed Britain’s consumer confidence to record lows according to new figures.  

The survey, by market research company Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC), asked over 1,000 consumers about their thoughts and feelings on job prospects, personal finances, spending intentions and major concerns. 

Consumer being stretched 

The Nielsen/BRC UK Consumer Confidence index now stands at 79. To put this into context, this time last year the index stood at 91, which was the lowest score since polling for this survey began in 2003.

The fact that the score has plummeted a further 12 points is telling of how much consumers are being stretched. 

The survey reveals that 55 per cent of people ranked inflation as their main concern during periods of economic downturn while 39 per cent said high interest rates.

Mike Watkins, senior manager in the retailer services division at Nielsen, pointed out that they are being hit with both at present and said that this has caused significant unease among consumers. 

The fall in consumer confidence can be attributed to a combination of increasingly negative consumer sentiment about job prospects, personal finances and personal spending power. 

Sixty per cent of people polled said they thought job prospects were either not so good or bad compared with 50 per cent in 2007.

No spare cash 

Fifty-seven per cent of people now think that their own personal finances will be not so good or bad over the coming 12 months compared with 46 per cent six months ago and three quarters of people believe that now is not a good time to spend on things they want or need.

British Retail Consortium director general Stephen Robertson said, “With one in five people saying they have no spare cash, the highest ever recorded by this survey, customers are telling us they are cutting back on spending on all sorts of non-essentials.” 

Clothes, footwear, furniture and new technology are the biggest casualties as consumers attempt to manage their money.

“It’s clear we are seeing the effects of customers’ concerns about the future and about their own levels of debt,” Robertson concluded.

When asked about major concerns the economy was cited by more people than any other (31 per cent) followed by debt (26 per cent).

Other major concerns included work/life balance (20 per cent) and immigration (16 per cent).

Related articles

• Factory gate inflation in shock jump
• House prices fall by 2.4% in May
• Bank keeps interest rates on hold

Related links

• British Retail Consortium