Consumer confidence – weighed in the balance

One of the tests of the English legal system is “what would the man on the Clapham omnibus think?”- Basically this is the reaction to any problem or situation that could be expected from a reasonably educated and intelligent but non-specialist person.

In the current economic climate many companies would do well to ask “what does the man standing in the queue at the Clapham Supermarket checkout think?”

The problem is (as we see all too regularly) many people running businesses (or for that matter senior politicians) are too removed from the realities of life to effectively understand the economic difficulties faced by the ordinary consumer.

It is a very easy exercise, a few minutes spent in the supermarket or on a garage forecourt will give a true insight into the problems and frustrations currently felt by the ordinary consumer.

Until such times as the man in the street starts to regain some confidence there is little chance of economic recovery having a sustained momentum.