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January blues in furnishing forecast
January 23, 2025
Consumer spending on furnishing in the first quarter is forecast to fall 15% say retail analysts but there's a small improvement in sentiment.
Latest data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) suggests 26% of consumers expect to spend less on furnishing in the next three months while 10% expect to spend more – a net result of minus 15%.
This is slightly better than the figures for December (minus 17) and November (minus 18).
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “As the government warns of tough times ahead, it is little surprise that the public have caught the January blues. Consumer confidence in the economy fell to a new low, with concerns most pronounced among older generations. Gen Z (18-27) remain the only group to expect the economy to improve, while two-thirds of Boomers (60-78) expect things to get worse.
“Feelings around people’s own finances fell slightly, with older generations remaining the most pessimistic. Expectations of retail spending and wider spending both fell significantly, though much of this is likely to be the end of the Christmas period, as people tightened their belts for the new year ahead," she said.
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