GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased two points to -19 in April.
Four measures were up – including the Major Purchase Index, which rose two points to -25 (three points higher YoY) – and one stayed the same in comparison to last month’s announcement. Optimism around personal finances for coming year remained stable.
Joe Staton, client strategy director, GfK, says: “Headline confidence edged forward in April to -19. There was a welcome repeat of the March +2 score for how consumers feel about their personal finances in the next 12 months.
"While the Overall Index Score remains negative, all of the underlying five measures this April are significantly better than they were last April. These improvements reflect the impact on household budgets of lower inflation and the anticipation of further tax cuts.
"However, we are a long way from the much firmer sentiment last seen in the period before Brexit, Covid and the conflict in Ukraine. There is a lot of ground to make up, and caution is needed in the face of continuing economic and fiscal challenges, and revised views on when the Bank of England might cut borrowing costs. But spring has arrived and maybe consumer confidence is, at last, slowly becoming brighter and heading in the right direction.”
