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Consumer confidence in the UK has continued to show signs of entering a full recovery, after GfK-NOP’s latest report showed an increase for the third month running.
Confidence in the general economy rose by 16 points, a level not seen since August 2007 reflecting a wider rise encompassing the main index, as well as personal finances and major appliance purchases.
Crucially for the channel, the major appliance index continued to rise for the third month running too, rising a further point to -22.
GfK NOP consumer confidence team member Rachel Joy was optimistic about the results, but warned that the economy was far from being free from problems. "The GfK index rose this month to -27, still historically low, but up 12 points from last July’s all time lowest ever.
"Significantly, this is now the third consecutive month that we have seen a rise in the index – suggesting a definite upward trend – and it’s largely driven by the public’s perception that the next twelve months will be better for both our own personal finances and particularly for the economy in general.
"This could be down to a combination of the simple belief that things are improving, as well as the feel good factor of improving weather following the Easter Bank Holiday," she added. "It is worth noting that fieldwork this month was carried out before the Budget announcement, so we’re very interested to see how next month’s results are affected by that."