In this edition of The Deloitte Consumer Review, we focus on how the EU referendum and the ongoing Brexit negotiations are impacting consumers' confidence, spending and behaviour. We ask what this means for consumer-facing businesses.

Conveying the consumer voice around Brexit

Brexit continues to dominate the headlines, but how much of a concern is it for consumers? Against a backdrop of a depreciation in the pound, a rise in inflation and low wage growth, are consumers beginning to feel the pinch and do they attribute this to Brexit?

In an attempt to convey the consumer's voice, we have undertaken research to provide some clarity on how consumers view the impact of the referendum, what they feel their prospects are post-Brexit and the key challenges and opportunities facing consumer businesses.

Key findings from the report:

  • Brexit ranks sixth on the list of potential areas of concern for the UK consumer, suggesting that consumers have shaken off any negative effect associated with the referendum result.
  • The nation has differing views when it comes to how confident they feel following the vote to leave the EU. Remain voters have seen negative change across all measures of consumer confidence; whereas Leave voters have seen positive change across four measures.
  • Consumers are presenting a mixed picture about the change in their financial situation over the last 12 months, with 43 per cent of respondents claiming it had stayed about the same, 36 per cent stating it had got worse and 18 per cent stating that it had got better.
  • Consumers' views on their personal finances are polarised between Leave and Remain voters, with 65 per cent of Remain voters believing their personal finances will be negatively impacted by Brexit and 63 per cent of Leave voters anticipating either no or positive change.
  • A significant minority of consumers expect to actively change their spending habits as a result of the Brexit vote. At least 30 per cent expect to reduce their spending across all categories.
  • There is a greater consensus over the impact of Brexit on the price of goods and services, with a third of respondents expecting price rises across all categories.

Download the Report

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