Consumer's catch the January blues as confidence deteriorates

(Alliance News) - Consumer confidence dropped in January, as expectations around the health of ...

Alliance News 23 January, 2025 | 6:29AM
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(Alliance News) - Consumer confidence dropped in January, as expectations around the health of the economy deteriorated, a report on Thursday showed.

According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations over the next three months of their personal financial situation dropped to minus 4 in January, down from minus 3 in December.

Consumer's expectations of the state of the economy worsened to minus 34 in January, down from minus 27 in December and personal spending on retail fell to minus 9 in January, down from minus 3 in December.

Personal spending expectations overall dropped to plus 4 in January, down from plus 11 in December but personal saving improved to minus 3 in January, up from minus 5 in December.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "As the government warns of tough times ahead, it is little surprise that the public have caught the January blues. Consumer confidence in the economy fell to a new low, with concerns most pronounced among older generations. Gen Z (18-27) remain the only group to expect the economy to improve, while two-thirds of Boomers (60-78) expect things to get worse. Feelings around people’s own finances fell slightly, with older generations remaining the most pessimistic. Expectations of retail spending and wider spending both fell significantly, though much of this is likely to be the end of the Christmas period, as people tightened their belts for the new year ahead."

Fieldwork was conducted by Opinium for the BRC. The sample included 2,000 UK adults and results have been weighted and assigned a net score.

By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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