{
  "id": 15971359,
  "title": "Budget 2026: Consumer confidence tumbles as Healey urged to slow ‘tsunami of costs’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/budget-2026-consumer-confidence-tumbles-as-healey-urged-to-slow",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-21T23:01:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/consumer-confidence-tumbles-as-healey-urged-to-slow-tsunami-of-costs/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Consumer confidence in the UK economy has plummeted ahead of the upcoming Budget, with businesses warning that they cannot continue to encourage spending without tax cuts, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC's index shows consumer sentiment worsening from -32 to -40 in October, marking the third consecutive month of declining confidence. This sentiment is driven by growing concerns about inflation and rising interest rates, which have combined to negatively impact consumer attitudes.\n\nThe BRC's index also revealed that Brits' net expectation of their personal finances over the next three months deteriorated from -15 to -18, the second-lowest level on record. Despite this, consumer spending expectations rose sharply in October, from a net reading of five to 15. However, this optimism was short-lived as inflation continued to rise, with consumer price inflation increasing from 3.1 to 3.5 percent in the year to September, exceeding economists' predictions.\n\nSupermarket bosses attribute part of the inflation surge to rising energy and supply costs. Despite their efforts to control these costs, food inflation is expected to surge to 6.4 percent by July next year. This is causing Brits to brace for sharp increases in the price of groceries, with 36 percent of shoppers expecting to spend more on food over the next three months, up from 28 percent in September.\n\nHelen Dickinson, BRC's chief executive, urged the Chancellor to address the \"tsunami of costs\" that have hit the industry during the upcoming Budget. She emphasized that a little breathing room for retailers could provide significant relief for households. Retailers have been trying to keep prices down, but a 20 percent tax increase on the industry over two years has left them with no more room for maneuver.\n\nRetailers have also called for the government to exempt high street shops from the highest business rates multiplier and roll back recent hikes to employer national insurance contributions (NICs). They argue that these increases, combined with above-inflation hikes to the minimum wage, are preventing them from investing in employment to address the rising number of young people not in education, employment, or training (Neet). B&Q owner Kingfisher's chief executive, Thierry Garnier, stated that the company's provision of work experience placements for young people depends on the decisions made by the Chancellor in the Budget.",
  "summary": "John Healey has been urged to tackle the “tsunami of costs” facing firms as consumer confidence tumbled ahead of the crucial Budget next week. Brits’ confidence in the state of the economy worsened from -32 to -40 in October, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)’s index, marking the third consecutive month of deteriorating sentiment. [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}