Europe more upbeat than UK

CONFIDENCE among British consumers has slumped in the first three months of the year as the number of people who say they have no spare cash for non-essential spending or saving increased.

And 87 per cent of people believe the country is currently in a recession – despite the UK avoiding the triple dip downturn earlier this month?.

The report by Nielson found that Europe-wide, consumers were more upbeat – with Britain demonstrating a far gloomier outlook than its continental neighbours.

More than half of Britons at 58 per cent are switching to cheaper grocery brands compared to 54 per cent in France, while just 23 per cent of people said they felt confident about their job prospects compared with 48 per cent of people in Germany.