What colour do you think sums up UK consumer confidence in January? Blue, of course, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

That’s the usual colour chosen to described the general post-Christmas gloomy mood and it duly coloured the latest data from BRC-Opinium (collected 10-14 January).

That means consumer confidence hit a new low as expectations over the next three months dipped. That included a Personal Financial Situation that dropped to -4 in January, down from -3 in December, as the State of the Economy reading worsened to -34 this month, down from -27 in December.

On the subject of Personal Spending on Retail, this fell strongly, to -9 in January from -3 in December while Personal Spending Overall dropped to +4 this month, from +11 in December.

But the Personal Saving reading increased to -3 in January, up from -5 in December as consumers go on a ‘savings rather than spending’ drive.

Helen Dickinson, BRC CEO, said: “As the government warns of tough times ahead, it is little surprise that the public have caught the January blues.

“Consumer confidence in the economy fell to a new low, with concerns most pronounced among older generations.” 

She noted that Gen Z-ers (18-27) “remain the only group to expect the economy to improve, while two-thirds of Boomers (60-78) expect things to get worse.” 

Dickinson added: “Feelings around people’s own finances fell slightly, with older generations remaining the most pessimistic. Expectations of retail spending and wider spending both fell significantly, though much of this is likely to be the end of the Christmas period, as people tightened their belts for the new year ahead.”

And with retailers facing £7 billion in additional costs from the Budget, their “tight margins [are] leaving little scope to absorb more costs [so] many are warning of price rises and job cuts in the coming months. To mitigate this, and shore up investment in shops and entry level jobs, the government must ensure that no shop ends up paying a higher business rates bill because of its proposed reforms.”