Despite this improvement, the overall confidence figure remains well below the long-term average of -10, recorded over the past 20 years. For comparison, consumer confidence hit an all-time high of 36 in January 2000 and a historic low of -59 in September and October 2022.

Consumer confidence is measured by balancing positive and negative responses across five questions, yielding a score between -100 and 100. September’s score reflects ongoing pessimism, though less severe than in August.

Consumers expressed reduced pessimism regarding the broader economy, with this component of the indicator rising to -37, up from -42 in August. This marks an improvement in how people view the economic situation over both the past 12 months and the upcoming year.

Consumer willingness to make purchases also saw a modest uptick. The willingness to buy indicator climbed to -11 in September, improving from -13 the previous month. Consumers reported feeling slightly better about their personal finances over the past year and were more optimistic about the year ahead. Additionally, there was a more positive attitude towards making larger purchases compared to August.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)