Shopper confidence in the UK reached its lowest point on record (-14) in January 2022 despite the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, according to the latest data from IGD.
Data revealed that confidence dropped to -17 by the end of January, from -11 in the first week of the month.
Rhian Thomas, head of Shopper Insight at IGD ShopperVista, explained, “The removal of COVID-19 restrictions this month did nothing to improve shopper confidence due to cost-of-living concerns, and there is still space for it to decline further given the full effect of rising prices is yet to be felt.
"We continue to believe that rising food and energy bills will hit the lowest affluence groups hardest, with 'heating vs. eating' becoming a genuine concern for the lowest earners.”
In December 2021, shopper confidence remained stable at -9 compared with November, and 3 points lower than the score of -6 in December 2020.
Financial Confidence
Financial confidence reached its lowest level since 2013, excluding the initial 2020 lockdown period, with 39% stating they expect to be worse off in January 2022 compared with 31% in December 2021.
The study also found that 89% of shoppers now expect food prices to rise in the next year – the highest since September 2011.
Thomas added, ”From our data, we are seeing shoppers indicate [that] they are spending more than they want to and buying less as a result.
"Going forward, businesses should prepare for shoppers being more planned in their shopping - eating more at home and looking to spend less day-to-day to save money and spend on what matters to them."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
