Shopper confidence remained stable in the UK in December despite increased lockdown measures and uncertainty over Brexit, according to the latest report from IGD.
Shopper confidence recorded a score of -6 for the second month in a row in December, which is the joint-highest score since February 2020.
In what was a drastically different December for shoppers compared to previous years, consumer confidence was mainly driven by Christmas food and grocery shopping and the rollout of the first virus vaccine.
'A Turbulent Month'
Simon Wainwright, director of global insight at IGD, commented, "While it is encouraging that overall confidence is still the highest it has been in nearly a year, we can see that December was a turbulent month as shoppers navigated the constant changes brought on by rising COVID-19 cases."
He also warned of further uncertainty in the foreseeable future due to the "deepening economic downturn".
Shopper confidence is calculated using four key measures: household finances, food prices, focus on quality vs. saving money, and trust in the industry.
At the beginning of December, the score increased to 0 as the second lockdown ended and the first vaccine was administered.
It then dropped to -8 in the following week as stricter tier four restrictions were introduced in England.
The index saw a slight boost to -6 at the end of December following an announcement of the EU trade deal.
The study also found that confidence changed significantly across regions, with declines in London and the south-east of the UK due to a tightening of restrictions.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
