Consumer confidence levels dipped at the end of September due to the crisis in the financial markets, after having climbed at the beginning of the month, but consumers are beginning to acclimatise to the downturn according to market researchers GfK NOP.

The original GfK NOP Index was conducted over the weekends 5-7 and 12-14 September.

Yet the market research firm conducted an additional wave of research on the weekend of 19-21 September, to take into account the affect of the financial market upheavals.

Without taking into account the latest weekend, the overall index score was -32, an improvement on the -36 recorded in August.

But after including the latest dates, the figure falls to -36. This compares with the -7 recorded at the same point last year.

Rachael Joy in the Consumer Confidence team at GfK NOP commented: “When we look at our additional wave, to see how the late September financial upheavals had affected this rise, the findings show that, while the rise in confidence has taken a blow, it is not enormous – merely taking us back to the August level. The figure showing the biggest hit is the ‘climate for major purchases’, which lost all the six points it had gained since the August level, as people hold back on big spending while they wait to see what the future holds.

“Looking at the overall trend, I’d say we’re seeing a tentative lift in UK consumer confidence, although we’re still at the levels not seen since the 1990s recession. The indication is that people are coming to terms with the thought of living through a depression.”

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