- Overall index dropped -0.8 points
- Outlook for household finances declines for the second month in a row (-3.7)
- Employees reported greater business activity over past 30 days (+0.7), and forecast for the next 12 months also improved (+1.4)
- Homeowner perceptions of house value declined in the short (-0.4) and longer-term (-1.5)
March saw a dip in consumer confidence, according to the latest data from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The overall index dropped -0.8 points largely thanks to declining confidence in household finances and house prices.
YouGov collects consumer confidence data every day, conducting over 6,000 interviews a month. Respondents answer questions about household finances, property prices, job security and business activity, capturing their views on the past 30 days and on their forecast for the coming 12 months.
Household finance measures saw the largest decline in March. Retrospective measures fell from 92.5 to 91.0 (-1.5), while outlook saw an even more dramatic drop of -3.7 points from 99.3 to 95.6 (-3.7). The forward-looking metric saw the largest month- on- month fall since July 2023.
A recent YouGov survey showed that 61% of Britons expect they will have to make spending cuts in future due to the rising cost of living.
Homeowners also grew more pessimistic in March. Scores for the past 30 days slumped from 119.2 10 118.8 (-0.4), while those tracking the next 12 month fell from 136.6 to 135.1 (-1.5).
UK workers were more mixed in their perceptions of job security. Measures tracking retrospective opinion over March jumped from 98.0 to 98.9 (+0.9), but hope for the future waned, with outlook decreasing from 117.5 to 116.8 (-0.8).
Business activity was the only metric where an uptick was seen across both measures. Workers were more likely to report increased activity over the past month, with scores rising from 111.6 to 112.3 (+0.7), and optimism for the future increased as well, with scores rising from 123.7 to 125.1 (+1.4). It’s the second month in a row where both measures have shown improvement.
