Consumer confidence on the rise, report shows

Date: 31st August 2010

Small business owners operating in the UK could be among those boosted by the news that consumer confidence is on the rise.

According to the latest figures published by GfK NOP, confidence among UK consumers increased for the first time last month since February.

The statistics show that improvement in confidence in personal finance and the "general economy" lifted the organisation's Consumer Confidence Index by four points to -18.

Data pointed to growing confidence in past and future performance with increases reported in personal finance and "general economy" confidence for both the past and forthcoming 12-month periods.

Nick Moon, managing director of GfK NOP Social Research, said that the increased confidence could help the UK avoid slipping back into recession.

"Overall consumer confidence has been in constant decline for the last five months and a further fall would have made a double-dip recession seem a very real prospect," he commented.

Posted by Emma Clarke