BRC CONSUMER SENTIMENT MONITOR September 2026
Fieldwork conducted on 8 - 11
September 2026
According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer
expectations over the next three
months of:
-
The state of the economy worsened to -34
in September, down from -28 in August.
-
Their personal financial
situation worsened to -15 in September, down from
-9 in August.
-
Their personal spending on retail fell to
+5 in September, down from +8 in August.
-
Their personal spending overall remained
at +15 in September, the same as in August.
-
Their personal saving fell slightly to -7
in September, from -5 in August.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail
Consortium, said:
Consumer confidence in the economy stumbled after four months of
improvement, with a similar trend for sentiment around personal
finances. This decline was much sharper among women and with
households bracing for a sharp rise in energy costs this winter,
and bills rising faster than shop prices, it is little surprise
that expectations of retail spending fell, even as overall
spending plateaued.
With the Budget looming large, consumers want to see Government
prioritise bringing down the cost of living. Retail will play its
part, but the Chancellor must not compound the triple blow from
escalating employment costs, energy bills, and business rates,
allowing retailers to focus on holding prices down. He should
start by freezing the business rates multiplier, preventing yet
another burdensome tax increase.
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-
Data collection began in March 2024 and all records are since
then.
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?
