There’s not much to get excited about when it comes to UK consumer confidence, with GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increasing just one point to -17 in December. 

In fact, consumers are “adopting the holding pattern we’ve seen for much of 2024… and very close to the 2024 average of -18,” says its Consumer Insights Director Neil Bellamy.

He added: “Consumer confidence is still far from strong but there is some room for optimism,” as the wider report showed two measures were up and three were unchanged compared to last month’s announcement.

Personal finances over the next 12 months are up two points versus November and creeping back into positive territory (at +1). 

“This echoes the encouraging positive scores we saw in this measure from March to August. However, with the major purchase measure unchanged at -16 in December, consumers are still thinking twice about big-ticket purchases and whether they will bring Christmas cheer”. 

Significantly, views on the economy are unchanged from November (-39 over the last 12 months and -26 for the next 12 months) “which suggests people don’t know where we are going… we will need to see robust improvements in these perceptions of the economy before we can start talking about sustained improvements in the consumer mood. In a nutshell, it’s the continuing uncharitable view on the UK’s general economic situation that’s suppressing consumer confidence.”