GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased by one point to -19 in March. Two measures were up, two were down and one was unchanged – the Major Purchase Index stood at -17 (up 10 points YoY) – in comparison to last month’s announcement.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director, NIQ GfK, says: “Consumer confidence remains subdued with a headline score of -19 for March. Views on personal finances for the past year are slightly down from -7 to -9, while perceptions of the wider economy over the last 12 months and looking ahead a year are each up two points at -42 and -29 respectively.
"But this is only a marginal improvement. Since September last year, the headline has been in a range of -17 to -22. This is more positive than mid-2022 into early 2023 at the height of the cost of living crisis, which delivered the worst headline scores ever including nine months at -40 or worse. But we are still below the long-term average of -10.
"If consumer confidence were a patient languishing in a hospital bed, a doctor would say there is little evidence of a recovery as yet. Where do we go from here? The current stability is to be welcomed but it won’t take much to upset the fragile consumer mood.”
