Recession warning as confidence among shoppers falls to lowest since 2008 financial crash

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Confidence among shoppers has fallen to its lowest level since the 2008 financial crash as the soaring cost of living prompted a sharp drop-off in spending, new figures show. “Rishi Sunak’s decision to not adequately support households isn’t just a crisis for people struggling to get by, it actually risks tipping the UK economy into recession,” he said. “A fresh downturn is far from certain, but the government should be doing all it can – and far more than it currently is – to help support those on low incomes who will be hardest hit.” Sam Tims, economist at the New Economics Foundation, said the policy announcements so far were nowhere near enough to deal with living cost increases. “We are already seeing consumers adopt coping mechanisms to deal with the squeeze in incomes, such as seeking value and trading down,” Lisa Hooker, consumer markets leader at PwC, said, adding: “We have also seen more resilience in spending across the older age groups, maybe reflecting that they were less impacted through lockdown in terms of finances but also are likely to be helping out their families.”