IGD’s Shopper Confidence Index for October fell to its second-lowest level since it was first measured in 2013, following a decline in five out of the last six months.
The ShopperVista research found that concerns around food price inflation are at elevated levels; 84% of shoppers expect food and grocery prices to increase in the year ahead and a record 28% expect them to get “much more” expensive.
Shopper confidence fell to -11 last month vs -9 in September after overall financial confidence declined – 34% of shoppers expecting to be worse off in the year ahead, up 3% on last month. Confidence declined across all income groups but particularly amongst lower-income households.
As a result, shoppers are increasingly focusing on saving money; 26% (vs 11% April ’21) expect to focus more on saving money in the year ahead, which is the highest level recorded in six years.
Simon Wainwright, Director of Global Insight at IGD, said: “It comes as no surprise that shopper confidence has decreased once again, following the steady decline we’ve seen in recent months. It paints a bleak picture for the winter and shoppers will remain highly sensitive to price rises and news relating to availability. With labour supply stretched thin and declining confidence, the Christmas trading period is likely to be a challenging time.
“This further decline in confidence comes at a time when the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts that growth of household incomes, after taking account of inflation, will effectively stall over the next two years.
“While some households will look for ways to trade-up this Christmas to compensate for missing out on last year, ‘savvy shopping’ will become increasingly prevalent. People will shop around to get the best deals and private label products will grow in popularity. Value will be top of shoppers’ minds for the foreseeable future.”
