The latest statistics on shopping, spending and debt management have revealed that consumers were less likely to make big purchases last month (June 2011).
The Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index came up with the data, which showed that both consumer confidence and spending dropped in June, despite it rising in May around the time of the Royal Wedding, a period of sunny weather and an extra bank holiday.
Consumer confidence dropped by four whole points last month, according to the UK’s third-biggest savings and mortgage provider, falling to just 51. Coinciding with this was a fall of six points in the Spending Index, which dropped from 80 to 74 in the space of a month.
All of the latest statistics point to increased caution about spending amongst consumers, especially when it comes to larger purchases, and this is possibly due to concern over rising energy and fuel prices, the threat of redundancy or long-term unemployment, and high inflation. Another important factor is worry over debt management, as the squeeze on household budgets has made less people willing to splash out on large purchases.
Mark Saddleton, who is the Head of Economic and Market Analysis at Nationwide, commented on the findings of the latest Consumer Confidence Index and offered some more positive news for consumers. He said:
“There are signs that the weakness of consumer spending power is beginning to exert downward pressure on prices in the High Street, and better than expected inflation figures for June give hope that there may be some respite for consumers ahead.”
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