Consumer confidence improves with vaccine rollout - survey
By Sean Farrell
Date: Friday 18 Dec 2020
(Sharecast News) - UK consumer sentiment picked up in time for Christmas after the government started vaccinations against Covid-19, a survey showed.
The overall score for the GfK consumer confidence index rose to -26 in December from -33 in November and improved on all five measures as households' view of their prospects turned positive.
The score for people's personal financial situation over the past 12 months improved to -9 from -16 and turned optimistic for personal finances over the next year with a reading of +3 compared with -5 in November.
Sentiment about the economy in the past 12 months was little changed at -65 from -67 but respondents' view of the general economic situation over the next year improved to -35 from -50. The 15-point jump is the biggest for economic confidence since early 2011 when the economy was recovering from the last recession.
GfK carried out its survey in early December as England emerged from its second Covid-19 lockdown and the government started vaccinating people against the disease, raising hopes that life might start to move back to normal in 2021.
The improved confidence measures supported consumers' willingness to spend, boosting GfK's major purchase index to -22 from -28 in good news for Britain's struggling retailers during their peak trading period.
Joe Staton, GfK's client strategy director, said: "Consumers are looking for good news and they have found it in the form of the UK's Covid-19 vaccination programme getting underway, which has lifted the mood pre-Christmas. While confidence is still in negative figures, are we finally heading in the right direction?"
GfK interviewed 2,000 people on behalf of the European Commission from 1-11 December.
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