Consumers ‘hunker down’ as major purchase intent drops

British consumers’ propensity to make major purchases fell two points in January to a score of +10, according to GfK’s latest consumer confidence index.
The decline, which was the complete reverse of a seven point increase in December, is perhaps expected given the general trend for consumers to spend less in January following a Christmas blowout. But Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, expects the decline in major purchases to continue throughout 2017.
He tells Marketing We