Fieldwork conducted on 04-07 April
2025
According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations
over the next three months of:
-
The state of the economy dropped significantly
to -48 in April, down from -35 in March.
-
Their personal financial situation worsened to
-16 in April, down from -10 in March.
-
Their personal spending on retail rose to +3
in April, up from 0 in March.
-
Their personal spending overall fell slightly
to +10 in April, down from +11 in March.
-
Their personal saving rose slightly to -4 in
April, up from -5 in March.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail
Consortium, said:
“With fieldwork completed just days after Donald Trump's
“Liberation Day” tariffs, it is unsurprising that consumer
expectations for the economy plummeted to a record low. The
original tariff schedule, since reduced for most countries, was
expected to reduce growth in the UK and elsewhere. Yet despite
this economic pessimism, expectations of retail spending rose
slightly as the prospect of Easter shopping drew closer.
Unsurprisingly, expected spending on groceries saw the largest
increase, with over 4 in 10 expecting to spend more in the coming
months, rising to half of the over 55s. Meanwhile, Gen Z planned
to take advantage of the improving weather, with rising spending
expectations for eating out and health & beauty products.
“Even with a pause on many of the US tariffs, business and
consumer confidence remains fragile. The risk of higher global
prices is an unwanted addition to the £7bn in new costs hitting
retailers this year from higher employer National Insurance,
increased NLW, and a new packaging tax. Many retailers are also
concerned about the risk of cheap Chinese products being diverted
from the US to other destinations, including the UK. The UK
should review the de minimis rules, which allow low-value imports
to avoid checks and duties. It is vital the UK's strict quality
standards are upheld to ensure the best outcome for British
businesses and consumers.
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.
All monitor dates for next year can be found here
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?
