Retail consumer confidence begins to improve as Christmas approaches

Latest data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has shown an improvement in consumer confidence as Christmas approaches.

According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations of their personal financial situation over the next three months improved slightly to -4 in October, up from -6 in September.

The state of the economy improved slightly to -17 in October, up from -21 in September. Personal spending on retail, improved significantly to +2 in October, up from -8 in September with personal spending overall rising to +17 in October, up from +10 in September.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said “As the festive season approaches, spending expectations rose as consumers prepared to increase spending on food and gifts. Similarly, plans for overall spending rose, as people planned for more leisure activities in the run-up to Christmas. This more optimistic outlook was partially reflected in people’s expectations of their financial situation and state of the economy, which – while still negative – improved slightly on the previous month.”