Fieldwork conducted on 8-11 July
2025
According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations
over the next three months of:
-
The state of the economy worsened to -33 in
July, down from -28 in June.
-
Their personal financial situation worsened to
-7 in July, down from -5 in June.
-
Their personal spending on retail rose to +3
in July, up from +2 in June.
-
Their personal spending overall rose to +16 in
July, up from +12 in June.
-
Their personal saving rose slightly to -3 in
July, up from -4 in June.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail
Consortium, said:
“With the UK economy shrinking for the second consecutive month,
it is little surprise that consumer confidence fell in July.
Rising inflation, particularly for food, has put more pressure on
personal finances, increasing the cost of living. This has caused
spending expectations to rise, particularly for groceries, as
households anticipate higher prices at the till.
“Despite fierce competition between retailers, retail inflation
has risen steadily over the last nine months as a result of the
Chancellor's last Budget, which significantly increased
employment costs. Further tax rises hitting the retail industry
at the next Budget would likely fan the flames of inflation as
retailers are forced to increase prices. The Chancellor has the
opportunity to support households and high streets: the proposed
business rates reforms could make the system fairer, provided
government ensures that no store pays more as a result.”
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:
Consumer NET 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?
