Consumer confidence in the future of the UK economy has sunk to the lowest levels since the height of the cost of living crisis when inflation stood at 10%.

In a report which makes sobering reading for Gloucestershire business, according to consumer watchdogs at Which?, fears over global events such as the impact of the US tariffs and war in Ukraine are already filtering into our buying behaviour – and affecting both high-street and online retail health.

The Which? Consumer Insight Tracker suggests confidence in the future UK economy fell in April by seven points to minus 53, with 64% of respondents in a monthly poll of 2,000 consumers believing the UK economy will get worse in the next 12 months. Just 11% felt it will get better.

The data marks the lowest level since December 2022 when the cost of living crisis was at its height and the inflation rate was above 10%.

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, 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."

When the consumer champion asked respondents who reported being pessimistic why they felt so negatively about the future UK economy, nearly seven in 10 (67%) said it was because of global events such as the war in Ukraine and the US tariffs and trade policy.

Other commonly cited reasons include changes in prices (63%) and government tax changes (60%).

Confidence in future household finances also fell significantly (by 10 points to minus 19) to the lowest level reported since July 2023 and confidence in current household finances decreased by six points to 21.

The estimated number of households missing essential payments, such as rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, credit card or loan payments, remained at similar levels to March, at 1.9m households in the month to April 11.

The proportion of renters missing rent payments meanwhile increased to 4.7% in the last month, suggesting many are still struggling to make ends meet due to ongoing cost of living pressures.

An estimated 13m households (46%) made at least one adjustment to cover essential spending such as utility bills, housing costs, groceries, school supplies and medicines in the last month.

Adjustments include cutting back on essentials, dipping into savings, selling possessions or borrowing. This was slightly lower than the 51% seen in March.

Ms Concha added: "As it pushes to grow the economy and restore people's confidence, the government must make sure it is acting in the best interests of consumers. Well-designed laws and regulations that empower people to switch from bad to good services and give them confidence to try new products without fear of being ripped off are essential to boosting consumer spending and creating dynamic markets."

Which?'s Consumer Insight Tracker is an online poll conducted monthly by Yonder on behalf of Which?. It is weighted to be nationally representative with approximately 2,000 respondents per wave. 

Which? estimates that between 5.6% and 7.7% of households missed or defaulted on a housing, bill or credit payment in the last month to April 11, with an average estimate of 6.7%. Based on the survey and the ONS estimate for the number of households in 2023 of 28.4 million, this scales up to between 1.6 million and 2.2m households missing a bill payment in the last month, with an average estimate of 1.9 million.

The survey points to between 44% and 48% of households making at least one adjustment to cover essential spending in the last month to April 11, with an average estimate of 11%. 

Based on the survey and the ONS estimate for the number of households in 2023 of 28.4m, Which? estimates that between 12.4m and 13.6m households made an adjustment to cover essential spending in the last month, with an average estimate of 13m.