Consumer confidence in Scotland has fallen in line with the rest of the UK, dropping five percentage points to -16%, according to the latest Deloitte research.
Scottish consumer confidence in the state of the economy has dropped by eight percentage points to -71%, although this was a less dramatic decline when compared to the UK as a whole, which experienced a 20 percentage point fall.
Spending on essential items has increased a record 7% in Scotland compared to the last quarter of 2021, mirroring a trend seen across the rest of the UK. Discretionary spending is also up by 2% quarter-on-quarter.
