2 January 2007
January sales are here again and consumers who are feeling the pinch are likely to take out a personal loan to fund their retail therapy, according to Roger Bootle, an economic adviser to Deloitte Consulting.
With stores offering enormous discounts in all areas of retail it will be harder than ever for consumers to resist the call of the shops, leading many to take out a loan to help spread the cost.
The drive to entice customers through their doors is thought to have been caused by the mild autumn, high levels of credit card debt and online shopping.
"Consumers will wake up on January 1st and come back to reality with a bump as they face the poor state of their finances. Higher utility bills and interest payments mean less money is left," said Mr Bootle.
Analysts at e-secured-loans.co.uk have claimed that consumers often fall for bargains at this time of the year and then later decide to later take on a secured loan to help cover the cost of their new year spending.