YouGov consumer confidence index shows largest monthly drop since start of the pandemic

• April sees notable drops on all measures of consumer confidence
• Perceptions of forward-looking business activity show biggest monthly drop ever recorded (-6.4)
• Job security perceptions over the past 30 days record biggest drop (-4.3) since March 2020

The latest YouGov consumer confidence data, collected between the 1-24 of this month, shows the largest month-on-month drop (-4.6) since April 2020, just after the first Covid national lockdown came into effect. The overall index now stands at 107.1. Any score greater than 100 indicates positive sentiment, less than 100 indicates negative sentiment.

Employee’s perceptions of business activity looking ahead over the next 12 months showed the biggest ever monthly recorded drop (-6.4) since YouGov began tracking consumer confidence in 2012. This measure now stands at 118.8.

People’s outlook for job security over the past 30 days recorded the biggest drop (-4.3) since March 2020 and is in negative territory at 94.7.

People’s views of their household finances have also taken a hit. Views on the past 30 days are down 6.8, the largest monthly fall since March 2022. This measure is in negative territory at 84.2. Their outlook for the next year has gone down 7.8 in the past month, the largest monthly drop since August 2022, taking the measure to 87.8.

Will Ullstein, UK CEO of YouGov: “Households have had a lot to contend with in April both on the domestic front with household bills increasing, and the big global economic news on tariffs. In light of this, there has been the greatest monthly weakening of consumer confidence since April 2020 – the first full month of the national lockdown. 

But this increased uncertainty is not just domestic – the drop in perceptions of forward-looking business activity is the largest monthly fall YouGov have ever recorded in this measure. This suggests that a challenging combination of economic circumstances is starting to filter down to the workforce as businesses look to adapt to the uncertainty.”

Sam Miley, Managing Economist and Forecasting Lead at Cebr, said: “April was a significant month for the global economy, having been rocked by the imposition of tariffs from the US. By fuelling uncertainty, this policy shift seems to have fed through to UK consumers, contributing to the decline in this month’s Index. However, trade policy was not the only factor negatively affecting households in April. A swathe of cost increases came into play with the onset of the new financial year, particularly for energy and water bills. It is therefore of little surprise that sentiment towards household finances has tanked, reaching the weakest level in well over a year.”