
UK consumer spending growth in 2019 to be slowest in six years - hhs
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-consumers/uk-consumer-spending-growth-in-2019-to-be-slowest-in-six-years-ey-item-club-idUSKCN1TO0ZI
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toomanybeersies
Is this actually a bad thing? Do we need consumers spending more and more
money on things they don't need (and often don't even want, they just think
they want it)?

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mav3rick
Why are you the judge of what people want or don't want ?

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MikeTaylor
He isn't the judge of anything. He's just asking a question.

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Zenst
As somebody who lives in the UK, in most cases (that is - peoples I know) it
is small lifestyle changes that have impacted their spending habits more than
the ability to spend spend spend. Be that having a phone that works for them
for a few years that the need to upgrade every opportunity has become less
important. Not wasting money on plastic bags, or filling up the fridge because
they can. Giving up smoking for health reasons. Small things, but they all add
up.

But in many countries some areas have seen changes. Not all driven by fiscal
necessities.

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chiefalchemist
Hard to imagine this is a surprise. Doubt/fear historically has negative
impact on consumer spending.

That said, lack of population growth also keeps economic growth in check. If
you consider immigration a form of population growth (hint: you should) then,
again, given Brexit, lack of spending is no surprise.

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altmind
The rate of growth is slowing? What derivative is that?

>> In the fall of 1972 President Nixon announced that the rate of increase of
inflation was decreasing. This was the first time a sitting president used the
third derivative to advance his case for reelection.

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aries1980
Making assumptions on the size of the economy based the low-end retailers
revenue can be misleading. The people I know spend more and more on
healthcare, education, buying services abroad.

A better way could be to check the volume of payment card spending.

