Consumer confidence has recorded its biggest monthly improvement in nearly four years as lockdown restrictions eased and people felt more positive about their personal finances and the economy.
GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index improved by six points to -30 for June with all five measures used to compile the figure up in comparison to the reading a couple of weeks ago.
Whilst it has recovered from its lowest reading since the depths of the 2009 financial crisis, the index still remains far below the score of -13 this time last year.
Joe Staton, GfK’s Client Strategy Director, stressed it was too early to say that consumers are moving on from the coronavirus crisis.
He said: “The initial fall we announced on April 6th (-9 down to -34) was the biggest ever since this survey’s origins in 1974. You have to go way back to the 1979 oil crisis to find anything that comes close. This latest improvement may be misleading.
“Consumers appear to be confused and some are not sure what to think. Yes, we have seen queues as some shoppers return to battered high streets. But with economists warning that the post-lockdown upturn might not restore GDP to pre-COVID-19 levels, and with the labour market set for more job losses, we have to question whether we are seeing early signs of economic recovery or that infamous ‘dead cat bounce’. Most bets at present will be on the dead cat.”
NAM Implications:
- Important to keep in mind possible differences between physical and mental unlockdown…
- Consumers have had 3 months of coronavirus media saturation…
- Not all consumers will emerge unscathed.
