The country’s financial situation remained steady at -3 in December, unchanged from November. However, perceptions of the state of the economy worsened significantly, dropping to -27 from -19 in November. However, personal saving expectations improved, rising to -5 from -9 in November, British Retail Consortium (BRC) said in a press release.

“Public confidence in the state of the economy took a nosedive, falling 8 points (pts) to -27. This created a widening gap between expectations of the economy and of people’s own finances, which remained unchanged. Perceptions were heavily skewed by age, with 18- to 35-year-olds considerably more upbeat than older generations on both questions. The public’s spending intentions-both in retail and beyond – dropped 6 pts, with expectations of spending in nearly every retail category falling. If these expectations are realised, retailers could find themselves facing a New Year spending squeeze just as they unveil their January sales,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.

“The weak spending intentions could pave the way for a challenging year for retailers, who face being buffeted by low consumer demand and £7 billion (~$7.21 billion) of new costs from the Budget set to hit the industry in 2025. With sales growth unable to keep pace, retailers will have no choice but to raise prices or cut costs – closing stores and freezing recruitment. To mitigate the impact this will have on growth, Government must ensure that its proposed business rates reform does not result in any shops paying higher rates than they already do,” added Dickinson.

The fieldwork was conducted from 10–13 December 2024.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)