Garden Furniture | Consumer Confidence ‘at Recession Level’ As Weather Adds To Gloom
CONSUMER confidence is at recession levels, a new survey has revealed, as bad news and poor weather leaves people feeling gloomy about the economic outlook.
The survey by GfK NOP shows confidence dropping for the third month in a row to hit minus-31 in August, 13 points below a year ago and one point lower than July.
The figure has only been this low three times before in the survey’s 37-year history, and on two of those occasions – in 2008-09 and in early 1990 – the reading was accompanied by a recession.
It also hit minus-31 in April this year, but bounced back the following month amid the sunny weather and the royal wedding.
But the latest reading shows the royal feel-good factor has now worn off as the US and eurozone debt crises lead to global recession worries.
Non Rhys, from the Federation of Small Businesses Wales, said: “I think it’s a combination of factors and the fact as well that people still don’t have confidence that we’re clear out of a recession, that they’ve got job security and financial security and all the rest of it.
“When people are under pressure, confidence is low, they’re not going to be spending so business confidence is low and that’s a bit of a cycle until you start growing the economy again.
“The other thing is until the business confidence is increased, the private sector won’t be able to take up the slack from the public sector.”
Sarah Cordey, of the British Retail Consortium, said the poor summer weather in August had not helped.
She said: “The lack of an amazing sunny summer possibly hasn’t help improve people’s feelings. There hasn’t been enough of the feel-good hit of the summer to get people out to the shops.
“You always hope as a retailer you get the weather that matches the part, so, for example, in the summer so you can sell summer clothing, garden furniture and
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