CONSUMER confidence has fallen to an all-time low, although Scotland is home to the most optimistic shoppers in the UK, according to Nationwide Building Society.
Releasing its latest consumer confidence index, the society said sentiment had fallen for the second consecutive quarter. During the first three months of 2008, the survey's main confidence barometer fell eight points to 79 – the lowest level sinc
e the current series began in 2004. North of the Border, the index reading was 88 – the highest in the UK but nine points below the previous quarter's result.
A sharper decline in consumer confidence in Northern Ireland, which had topped the list in the final quarter of 2007, handed Scotland the top slot.
The outcome, though, is likely to be seen as a hollow victory.
Scots questioned for the latest report expressed concerns over job availability as the fallout from the credit crisis deepened.
About a third of people in Scotland are positive about the current economic situation, a figure that remains higher than most other parts of the UK.
Sentiment about future employment conditions fell for the second consecutive quarter. Some 39 per cent of Scots feel upbeat, marginally more positive than the UK average of 38 per cent.
Meanwhile, Nationwide said sentiment among Scottish consumers about making a major purchase, such as a house or car, rose in the first quarter, reversing a previous downward trend.
TNS polled 260 people across Scotland for the building society.
Nationwide spokesman Steve Cowdry said: "Consumer confidence took another hit in the first quarter of 2008. Weaker sentiment is not unexpected given recent economic and housing market developments."
The full article contains 275 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
