Consumer confidence takes a hit after General Election
New data from Equifax Consumer Confidence Index reveals 5% drop* in consumers feeling confident they will be able to meet their financial commitments
In the aftermath of the General Election, credit information provider Equifax, conducted its monthly Consumer Confidence survey*. Perhaps not surprisingly given the ‘hung Parliament' result, there was a 5% drop in those consumers who felt very confident that they would be able to afford their monthly financial commitments such as rent, mortgages, personal bills, credit cards, loans etc in the next month, compared to the responses at the end of May.
It seems, according to the YouGov research commissioned by Equifax, that men were more impacted by the result than women. There was a 8% drop compared to the end of May in men feeling very confident; 3% less women felt very confident.
The younger generations saw the biggest drop in confidence. 7% less 18-24 year olds said they felt confident about meeting their financial commitments. However, the older generation also seem to be concerned about the consequences of the General Election result, with 6% less from the group aged 55+ saying they felt confident about being able to afford the next month's financial commitments.
Regionally, consumers in the South East dropped the most in confidence, with 11% less feeling confident about their financial commitments. There was a fall in confidence of 8% amongst Yorkshire and Humberside residents and 8% of those living in the West Midlands felt very confident about managing their finances.
Just two regions saw uplift in confidence month on month. In Wales there was a 6% increase in those feeling very confident, while there was a 3% increase amongst those living in the East.
"Clearly it is very early days in terms of what the true impact of the General Election will be on individuals' finances", said Lisa Hardstaff, consumer credit information expert at Equifax. "But what the study by YouGov does show is that, in the early days there was an increased concern amongst consumers about their financial stability.
"Anyone struggling to keep track of their money can create a financial plan, for both their short and long-term financial commitments. We have created an interactive Budget Planner which is free to access from the Equifax website. Anybody who has concerns about their finances can also gain some understanding of their financial situation by obtaining a copy of their credit report to view their current commitments."
The Equifax Credit Report is accessible for 30 days for free at www.equifax.co.uk/Products/credit/credit-report. If customers do not cancel before the end of the 30-day free trial, the service will continue at £9.95 per month, giving them unlimited online access to their credit information and weekly alerts of any changes to their credit file. It also includes an online dispute facility to help them correct any errors on their credit file simply and quickly.
ENDS
* Research conducted by YouGov, June 12th 2017 amongst 2,018 consumers representative of the GB population. Research was conducted online.
May study conducted by YouGov, May 23rd 2017 amongst 2,019 consumers representative of the GB population. Research was conducted online.
For further press information, please contact: Clare Watson, Cecile Stearn, Parm Heer or Wendy Harrison at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: equifaxbtocteam@harrisonsadler.com
About Equifax
Equifax, Inc. ("Equifax") powers the financial future of individuals and organizations around the world. Using the combined strength of unique trusted data, technology and innovative analytics, Equifax has grown from a consumer credit company into a leading provider of insights and knowledge that helps its customers make informed decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyses data on more than 800 million consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide, and its databases include employee data contributed from more than 5,000 employers.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,200 employees worldwide.
Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Ranked 13 on the American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2015); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2015); named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015). For more information, visit www.equifax.com
Equifax Limited is one of the Equifax group companies based in the UK.
Equifax Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.