2023: The year of the gloomy consumer

As we limp towards the end of the consumer annus horribilis that was 2023, for many people, this was the year in that the interest rate Grinch threatened to steal Christmas. The last of this year’s consumer sentiment readings from Westpac reveals the lowest yearly score (bar one) since the bank began collecting the data back in 1974. It shows people are feeling worse than they did during COVID, or even the global financial crisis. Seasonal gloom: Shoppers on Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall. Credit: Luis Ascui Thus, this year trumped all years other than 1990 in the poor sentiment stakes. But back then, the economy was tipping into…