I still think recession is the key reason here making all the difference but I've been thinking about this some more and maybe it's also because people were caught by surprise so they didn't know what to do specially since a lot of crisis happened all at the same time with the Russia/Ukraine thing (food and energy).
And I know you guys aren't used to high having inflation rates so it is understandable for majority of people to have no experience in similar situations (they had never planned for it either).
Not sure if you're just referring to Gold investors here, but I've never understood anyone that didn't think a recession has been coming. I've been saying it for quite a few months now, and I've predicted it to be on par or worse than the great depression. Considering the pound is at its lowest level, the housing market is pretty much heading for a substantial collapse, I think that prediction might come true.
Plus, I just mentioned this in another related post, but this is two rather substantial recessions in just over ten years, which basically means the same people who went through 2008/2009 are now experiencing again, another recession which will likely claim some banks existence, and will require investment to keep them alive, i.e the exact same as 2008/2009.
So, consumer confidence is at a all time low right now, which is only going to be compounded by a decline in the housing market. I know it's technically only the pound right now that's massively suffering, but every single market is showing signs of struggle e.g gold. So, within a couple of months I believe we'll be on a global level of decline, which will only be emphasised by the recent pandemic, and war investment with Russia, and Ukraine.
This is literally only the start of the recession, we aren't even knee deep in it yet, and the pound has dropped a crazy amount. I remember when you could nearly get two dollars for a pound, how times change right?