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East Midlands Consumers Shrug Off Brexit With Confidence At Five-Year High

East Midlands Consumers Shrug Off Brexit With Confidence At Five-Year High

East Midlands consumers have shrugged off post-referendum pessimism, with confidence rising to a five-year high in Q3 2016, according to the latest Consumer Tracker from Deloitte, the business advisory firm.

  • Consumer confidence sees largest quarterly increase for 18 months;
  • Optimism driven by confidence in job security, up six percentage points since Q2;
  • East Midlands consumer confidence is higher than the national average
  • Consumer spending remains strong, with consumers prioritising leisure spending.

East Midlands consumers have shrugged off post-referendum pessimism, with confidence rising to a five-year high in Q3 2016, according to the latest Consumer Tracker from Deloitte, the business advisory firm.

The quarterly survey of 3,000 UK consumers, which was carried out between 16 and 18 of September, has seen confidence across the country rise by three percentage points from the previous quarter. This was the largest quarterly increase in confidence in 18 months, since Q4 2014.

In the East Midlands, the figures are even more positive, with consumer sentiment rising by two percentage points in Q3 up one percent from the national average. Furthermore, job security increased by 15 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Five out of the six measures which make up the confidence index have risen since the second quarter, with job security, job opportunities and career progression seeing particularly strong gains in consumer optimism. Confidence in job security rose by six percentage points compared to the previous quarter, after having fallen for the previous three consecutive quarters.

Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, said:

“In contrast to the business community, with Chief Financial Officers on the defensive following the EU Referendum, UK consumers have put Brexit fears to one side.

“Consumers are benefiting from favourable tailwinds, including low inflation, low unemployment and relatively high disposable incomes."

The Q3 Consumer Tracker also showed that consumer spending is continuing to shift from everyday essential items to more discretionary, non-essential categories. Spending on essentials, such as clothes and groceries, was flat for the second consecutive quarter. By contrast, net spending on discretionary categories rose by one percentage point.

Alistair Pritchard, office senior partner at Deloitte in Nottingham, commented:

“Consumer confidence is particularly high in the East Midlands which is an encouraging sign for the region’s economy and businesses. Consequently, spending remains healthy and has probably been boosted by the good weather and the country’s sporting success over the summer.

 “With the consumer-focused economic fundamentals still showing few signs, if any, of a slowdown since the end of June, we expect retail sales growth to continue into the fourth quarter. Consumer spending power may be challenged in 2017 and beyond, particularly when faced by the prospects of higher inflation and the start of the formal Brexit process.”


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