BRC: Boomer bump bolsters consumer confidence

Fieldwork conducted on 7-10 July 2026

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

• The state of the economy improved to -37 in July, up from -43 in June.
  
  
• Their personal financial situation improved to -12 in July, up from -15 in June.
  
  
• Their personal spending on retail fell to +1 in July, down from +5 in June.
  
  
• Their personal spending overall fell to +13 in July, down from +16 in June.
  
  
• Their personal saving increased to -4 in July, up from -9 in June.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:
Consumer confidence improved for the third month in a row, thanks in large part to a bump in sentiment among baby boomers. This rise may have been driven in part by Andy Burnham's confirmation as the next PM, ending a period of political instability, as well as by a national feel-good factor of England progressing through the World Cup knockout stages. But we should not mistake this for recovery: only around one in ten expect the economy to improve in the future, and spending intentions remain more modest, though this may reflect lower inflation expectations, rather than tighter budgets.

While the direction of travel is encouraging, confidence remains fragile, with cost-of-living pressures continuing to weigh heavily on many families. While retailers are doing all they can to keep prices affordable for customers, the Government can play its part to reduce the cost burden on the industry, giving retailers the breathing room to invest in lower prices for the future. By tackling spiralling business costs, Andy Burnham will be helping retailers to drive down the cost of living for everyone.

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.