Data watch - what happened to consumer spending in the UK recession?

Putting to one side all the newspaper and tv stories of how consumers behaved during the recent recession in the UK, what does the data show? What were the real trends and how did consumers behave compared with the long preceding period of economic growth in the UK?

We’ve put together a brief series of data charts which illustrate what happened to consumer spending (a key part of UK GDP) during the recession period (and before). Each chart is available on a single-page pdf. This might come in useful as a lesson starter activity - either printing them out as handouts or displaying the relevant charts on an IWB. Students could be asked to identify the key trends and changes in the data, and to identfy potential reasons for those movements.

For students researching the recent UK recession for AQA BUSS4, it might also be useful to compare the data in the charts with the evidence they have gathered about the strategic actions issues they have identified for their chosen firms and/or industries.

Here are the links to our data charts on consumers during the recession:
Consumer spending on durable goods (e.g. televisions, cars, electronic items):

Value of UK Retail Sales (an index of total retail spending):

Indicators of Consumer Confidence: