Web hosting users learn of consumer confidence rise

Web hosting users selling products online will be buoyed by the fact that consumer confidence has risen to its highest level for 18 months. This is according to the latest report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which has shown a ten point gain on April.

The Consumer Confidence Index from the BRC and Nielsen has shown an increase to 75, up from the all-time low of 65 seen in April.

"This latest poll shows that the confidence of the nation continues to improve, though consumers remain very guarded and we are still a long way from the confidence levels we saw prior to the economic meltdown," explained Justin Sargent, managing director at Nielsen.

It appears that consumer behaviour in Britain has shifted in recent times. Figures from the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey, which polls 26,219 internet users around the world every six months, revealed that 70 per cent of people claimed they have changed their spending in order to save on household costs.

Over two-thirds (68 per cent) said they are now spending less on new clothes, while 66 per cent revealed they are attempting to save on gas and electricity.

Many believe that the way they spend has permanently changed as a result of the recession. Once the economy returns to growth, 54 per cent of consumers said that they will look to save on gas and electricity, with 38 per cent hoping to cut down on takeaways.

"It seems that consumers have implemented a number of strategies to stay within their budgets and they intend to persist with some of these even when times become easier," Mr Sargent added.

Last month, shared web hosting users learned that just five per cent of consumers predict that they will be more frivolous in the future, while 39 per cent do not think they will change, research from IGD showed.

Written by Sarah Woolf.