‘Hints of optimism’ in consumer confidence - BRC data

Fieldwork conducted on 6 - 9 January 2026

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

• The state of the economy improved to -32 in January, up from -38 in December.
  
  
• Their personal financial situation improved to -8 in January, up from -10 in December.

• Their personal spending on retail fell to -6 in January, down from +6 in December.

• Their personal spending overall fell to +5 in January, down from +17 in December.

• Their personal saving rose to +2 in January, up from -9 in December.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:
“The new year brought hints of optimism, with the second consecutive improvement in consumer confidence in the economy and in people's own finances. This was the highest in five months, though similar to a year earlier. The contrasting sharp fall in spending expectations, both retail and overall, was expected as the festive season came to a close. This was most keenly felt by Millennials and Gen X, the generations most likely to have children living at home.

“January's renewed optimism is encouraging, but shows just how important it is for Government to build momentum and restore confidence to the levels seen in previous years. With wages still struggling to keep pace with higher costs of living, many people feel as though neither their own finances nor the wider economy is moving forward. And if business costs continue to accelerate through 2026—from rising business rates to new regulatory burdens—then the risk is clear: inflation remains stubbornly high, and consumer confidence could falter once again.”

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-

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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?