BRC: Consumer confidence ‘remains gloomy’

Fieldwork conducted on 2-5 December 2025

According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations over the next three months of:

• The state of the economy improved to -38 in December, up from -44 in November.
  
  
• Their personal financial situation improved to -10 in December, up from -16 in November.
  
  
• Their personal spending on retail fell to +6 in December, down from +8 in November.
  
  
• Their personal spending overall rose to +17 in December, up from +14 in November.
  
  
• Their personal saving fell to -9 in December, down from -5 in November.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:
“With the Budget not as bad as feared for households, confidence saw a slight uptick in December. Yet the overall picture remains gloomy, with confidence in the economy stuck below -30 for eleven out of last twelve months. Expectations for retail spending continued to slide for the third consecutive month, proving challenges remain in the year ahead.

“Government needs to pull the levers of growth, tearing down red tape and bureaucracy to allow businesses to flourish and create more jobs. From the Employment Rights Bill to rules on less healthy foods, the Government must consider the cumulative impact of its policies on business, ensuring new regulations are workable and do not punish responsible businesses.”

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).