Jun 9, 2008

Retailers face hit as sentiment falls to new lowBy James ThompsonIndependent.co.uk

Consumer confidence has plummeted to an all-time low, sending retailers an ominous signal for the remainder of 2008, according to the British Retail Consortium.

The Nielsen/BRC UK Consumer Confidence index has tumbled to 79, compared with 91 – which was the lowest score since the survey began in 2003 – this time last year.

Mike Watkins, senior manager of retailer services at Nielsen, said: “The fact that the score has plummeted a further 12 points is telling us how much consumers are being stretched.”

He attributed the falling confidence to increasingly negative consumer sentiment about job prospects, personal finances and personal spending power. Sixty per cent of people polled said that they thought their job prospects were either not so good or bad, compared with 50 per cent in 2007, while 57 per cent described their personal finances in the same gloomy way.

BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: “With one in five people saying they have no spare cash, the highest ever recorded by this survey, customers are telling us they are cutting back on spending on all sorts of non-essentials. Clothes, footwear, furniture and new technology are the biggest casualties as consumers attempt to manage their money. It’s clear we are seeing the effects of customers’ concerns about the future and about their own levels of debt.”

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