UK consumers amassed £24 billion debt in downtown

A report by the USwitch website has today cast a very different shadow on the UK consumer market to the one which has been hitting the headlines of late. It is reported that UK consumers, narrowed down to "shopaholics", have amassed a massive £24 billion debt during the ongoing economic troubles. There are around 4 million women and 3 million men defined as "shopaholics" by the survey, i.e. shoppers who have built up more than half of the unsecured debt through "fashion" purchases.

The average personal debt over this period is around £3425 for men and £3353 for women with total male debt around £10 billion and total female debt around £13 billion. As the UK government and the Bank of England battle to maintain some stability for the UK economy the very fact that many people continue to amass significant personal debt, often unsecured, will be a major drag on any long-term recovery. Those who continue to spend beyond their means are literally storing up trouble for themselves in the future!

Surveys like the one issued today give a very alarming slant on consumer spending in the UK which for many people would still appear to be out of control.