This month, there has been a 5% drop in the number of consumers who felt able to afford their monthly financial commitments, such as rent, loans, mortgages and personal bills, the data gathered by YouGov on behalf of Equifax showed.
Younger consumers, those aged between 18 and 24, were the least confident about meeting their financial commitments, showing a 7% drop.
‘Impact on consumer confidence’
Equifax consumer credit information expert Lisa Hardstaff told The Morning Advertiser: “There has definitely been an impact on consumer confidence in recent months following Brexit [negotiations] and the hung parliament.
“I appreciate the effect this could have on pubs myself because I have a friend who runs a pub and she has seen a drop-off in the number of customers she has,” explained Hardstaff.
“The interesting thing is consumer confidence as a whole has gone down five basis points (according to the Guardian) since pre-Brexit, and there are concerns about mortgage rates and reduced wage levels – that’s all going to have an impact on average income.”
Consumers were being more careful with disposable income and instead of spending on non-essentials, they were more likely to save money, she added.
Continue to decline
There was no way of indicating how long before, if anytime soon, consumer confidence would rise again or whether it would continue to decline.
Hardstaff added: “Clearly it is very early days in terms of what the true impact of the general election will be on individuals’ finances.
“But what the study by YouGov does show is that, in the early days there was an increased concern among consumers about their financial stability.”