Fieldwork conducted on 7-10 October
2025
According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations
over the next three months of:
-
The state of the economy slightly improved to
-35 in October, up from -36 in September.
-
Their personal financial situation worsened to
-11 in October, down from -7 in September.
-
Their personal spending on retail rose to +14
in October, up from +5 in September.
-
Their personal spending overall rose to +18 in
October, up from +14 in September.
-
Their personal saving fell to -9 in October,
down from 0 in September.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail
Consortium, said:
“With Christmas now around the corner, expectations of spending,
particularly on retail goods, rose sharply, with a corresponding
drop in expected savings. This effect was pronounced among
Millennials and Gen X, the generations most likely to have
children living at home. Worries about the cost of Christmas,
coupled with concerns about potential tax rises in the upcoming
Budget are likely to have contributed to the drop in sentiment
around personal finances, which fell into double digits for the
first time since May.
“While the prospect of Christmas may have boosted expectations of
grocery spending, the general rise in food prices has meant many
families are struggling with the rising cost of living. Retailers
are doing what they can to limit price rises, but high costs from
the last Budget – including increased employment and packaging
taxes – are still filtering through into inflation. The Budget is
an important opportunity to relieve some of these cost pressures
– particularly the disproportionate burden of business rates on
the retail industry.”
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.
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?
If you would like the results of the questions by Gender,
Generation, Location, Working status, or Income, please contact
the Press Office. Generations are defined as: Gen Z (18-27),
Millenial (28-43), Gen X (44-59), and Boomer (60-78).
