Fieldwork conducted on 06-09 May
2025
According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations
over the next three months of:
-
The state of the economy improved to -36 in
May, up from -48 in April.
-
Their personal financial situation improved to
-12 in May, up from -16 in April.
-
Their personal spending on retail fell to 0 in
May, down from +3 in April.
-
Their personal spending overall remained at
+10 in May, the same as in April.
-
Their personal saving fell slightly to -5 in
May, down from -4 in April.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail
Consortium, said:
“Consumer confidence improved as UK economic growth picked up and
geopolitical tensions eased as the US-China trade war began to
cool, however, it remains far below levels seen last year. The
over-60s saw the biggest improvement, up almost 20 points, though
they are still the most pessimistic of all generations. This may
reflect the stock market recovery after the turbulence caused by
a slew of US tariff announcements. Overall spending expectations
stayed at similar levels for a third consecutive month, while
expectations of retail spend dropped slightly.
“Only weeks ago, consumers were facing uncertainty arising from
President Trump's announcement of eye-watering tariffs on many
countries. Fast forward to today, the UK has trade deals with
some of the world's largest economies. While agreements with the
US and India may have helped this month's boost in consumer
confidence, it is hoped the latest EU deal will drive further
confidence in the outlook for the economy and personal finances.
There is more the UK can do to encourage spending and trade:
reintroducing a tax-free shopping scheme would attract more
highvalue shoppers from abroad, benefitting retail, hospitality,
and leisure, and creating employment opportunities and boosting
economic growth.”
Consumer expectations for the state of the economy
over the next three months:
Consumer expectations for their personal financial
situation over the next three months:
Consumer expectations of spending over the next three
months by category:
-ENDS-
The BRC sent this release to our "Monitors" and "General
Retail" media list. To check/update what media lists you are on,
please contact us below.
All monitor dates for next year can be found here
Methodology:
Fieldwork conducted by Opinium for the BRC. Sample included 2,000
UK adults and results have been weighted and assigned a net
score. The better/worse figures in the graphs are rounded, while
net scores are calculated from precise figures. Questions were:
- Over the next 3 months, do you expect your personal finances
to get better or worse?
- Over the next 3 months, do you expect the state of the UK
economy to get better or worse?
- What do you plan to do in relation to your spending over the
next 3 months?
- Reflecting on your retail spend across different categories,
overall do you expect to spend more or less on retail items over
the next 3 months?
- What are your expectations for saving over the next 3 months?
- What are your expectations for spending on the following
retail categories over the next three months compared to the
previous 3 months?
