Consumer confidence at its lowest level since 2022

Overall, confidence in the future of the UK economy fell by seven points to -53 – driven by the fact that 64% of consumers believe the UK economy will get worse in the next 12 months, while only 11% believe it’ll get better.

When those who were pessimistic were asked why they felt so negatively about the future of the UK economy, 67% said it was because of global events such as the war in Ukraine, US tariffs and trade policy. More than 50% also cited changes to prices (63%) and government tax changes (60%).

Confidence in future finances also fell significantly – dropping by ten points to -19, while confidence in current household finances decreased by six points to +21.

The decline comes as the estimated number of households missing essential payments remained at similar levels to March, at 1.9 million households. Meanwhile, the proportion of renters missing rent payments increased to 4.7%, while an estimated 13 million households made at least one adjustment to cover essential spending.

Which? director of policy and advocacy Rocio Concha said: "Consumer protections give people the confidence to spend, so whether it’s rooting out online fraudsters, taking down rogue traders or tackling misleading business practices, the government must do more to place consumers at the heart of its plans to grow the economy and restore people’s confidence."