A study by the British Retail Consortium has found that while consumer confidence has risen by three points since December 2009, concerns about the recession are still at the forefront of peoples minds.
According to the BRC’s research, 84 per cent of shoppers still believe the country remains in a recession, with only 29 per cent thinking that the hard times will end this year. 27 per cent of respondents said that the economy was a big concern, and increase of two per cent since December.
In addition, job concerns remain high, with 71 per cent reporting that their job prospects over the next twelve months were either ‘bad’ or ‘not so good’.
“A tentative recovery is underway but it needs nurturing,” said the BRC’s director general, Stephen Robertson. “Customers feel better than they did a year ago but many people are still concerned about jobs, the economy and household bills. There's a bit more willingness to spend than there was but one in five say they have no spare cash and most people believe we're still in recession.
"Economic growth is the way out of the country's difficulties. Retail is crucial to that. To build the recovery, consumer confidence needs to be helped to improve further not undermined."
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