Consumer confidence across the UK continued to slide lower, falling to the lowest reading seen since the global financial crisis over a decade ago during late May with rising worries about unemployment and falling house prices weighing on consumers. GfK’s consumer confidence declined to -36 during the second half of May from -34 in the first two weeks of the month.

This was the lowest reading seen since July 2008, when the consumer confidence index had fallen to -39. On a slightly positive note, however, a sub-index measuring consumers’ willingness to purchase expensive items rose higher by six points.

Client strategy director at GfK, Joe Staton, comments, “With no sign of a rapid V-shaped bounce-back on the cards, consumers remain pessimistic about the state of their finances and the wider economic picture for the year to come. As the lockdown eases, it will be interesting to see just how the consumer appetite for spending returns in a world of socially-distanced shopping and the seismic shift to online retailing.”