28 March 2024, 15:26
By Furniture News Aug 01, 2016

Sharpest monthly fall in consumer confidence in 26 years

GfK’s long-running monthly Consumer Confidence Index, carried out on behalf of the European Commission, dropped 11 points in July – the survey dates back to 1974 and July saw the sharpest month-by-month drop for more than 26 years.

This is also a further 3-point drop from the -9 recorded by the Brexit special survey in early July.

Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, says: “Consumers in post-Brexit Britain are reporting higher levels of concern this month. We’ve seen a very significant drop in confidence, as is clear from the fall in each of our key measures, with the biggest decrease occurring in the outlook for the general economic situation in the next 12 months (-19 points).

"Although the rate of decline is slower than reported in the aftermath of the vote to leave the EU, consumers in the UK were also less optimistic about the state of their personal financial situation going forward (-9 points). However, the index continues to remain at a relatively elevated level by historic standards. Its future trajectory depends on whether we enter a new period of damaging economic uncertainty or restore confidence by embracing a positive stance on negotiating a new deal for the UK.”

The Major Purchase Index decreased 11 points this month to -2 – 13 points lower than this time last year.

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