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Savings are key to beating the slump
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Recession 'Upon us already' say UK Consumers
Writes Dan Drage dan.drage@consumerchoices.co.uk
Two thirds of UK consumers believe the country has fallen into recession already.
According to the consumer confidence index of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), over two thirds of consumers believe the country is in recession, with 34% predicting a global recession within the next 12 months.
The pessimistic outlook manifested itself as consumer confidence hit another record low. One in five subjects conceded the economy was their main financial concern, while 16% said debt problems troubled them the most.
Over half the subjects surveyed conveyed they ‘didn’t feel good’ about their fiscal situation, while one in five admitted to having no spare cash.
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"One in five subjects conceded the economy was their main financial concern"
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An economy is, in fact, classed as being in recession when it shrinks for six consecutive months. Britain's economy is still growing, according to the most recent figures, released in March. GDP, the measure of economic growth, rose by 0.4% in the first three months of the year.
Howard Archer, of Global Insight, an economic consultancy, remains unphased by the public view:
"The economy has slowed down suddenly, so it may feel like a recession, even though it isn't technically the case. In addition, people are seeing their bills rise and are really feeling the effects of the credit crunch."
The gloomy outlook has boosted the popularity of savings; a point Credit Choices’ Commercial Manager Chris Eagle is keen to discuss:
‘Many sensible consumers are looking to bed down and ride out the credit crunch with a durable savings account. Icesave (www.icesave.co.uk) are currently leading the way with a market busting account that pays 7.01% interest.’
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