BRC: Rising consumer confidence gives Burnham golden opportunity

Fieldwork conducted on 4 - 7 August 2026

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

• The state of the economy improved to -28 in August, up from -36 in July.
• Their personal financial situation improved to -9 in August, up from -12 in July.
• Their personal spending on retail rose to +8 in August, up from +1 in July.
• Their personal spending overall increased slightly to +15 in August, up from +13 in July.
• Their personal saving fell slightly to -5 in August, from -4 in July.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:

Consumer sentiment continued to rise with confidence in the economy hitting its highest level since the historical lows reached at the start of the Iran conflict. Expectations for personal finances saw a small improvement, driven by an optimistic Gen Z. This same generation also reported a bump in spending plans, as the stifling summer heatwaves are expected to give way to more shopping-friendly temperatures in much of the country.

The Burnham administration is enjoying a honeymoon boost driven by less pessimism about the outlook, but maintaining that momentum will depend on whether the Government can ease the pressure on household budgets. Retailers compete fiercely to keep the cost of food and essentials down, yet mounting regulatory and tax burdens risk pushing prices higher. The Budget will be the acid test of this government's real commitment to growth: if the government can reduce retail business costs, from energy bills to business rates, it will be ordinary households who feel the benefit. A Budget that backs retail and reduces costs is a pro-consumer Budget.

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 (18-29), Millennial (30-45), Gen X (46-61), Boomer (62-80).

This monitor was started in March 2024, and records are from this date.