Consumer confidence edged above pre-lockdown levels in July, according to GfK (Victoria Jones/PA)Consumer confidence edged above March 2020 pre-lockdown levels in July, according to an index. GfK’s UK consumer confidence barometer measures how households feel about their own financial situation and the wider economy. Within the overall score, households’ forecasts for their personal finances over the next 12 months held steady compared with June with a score of 11. “What happens across the remaining summer months will frame consumer confidence for the rest of 2021 and beyond.”Some 2,000 people were surveyed. Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, associate professor in consumer psychology at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “Consumer confidence has clearly taken a hit and that is why it is taking so long for consumers to feel psychologically comfortable to return to pre-pandemic levels of spending.

Source: Irish Independent July 22, 2021 23:03 UTC