Period covered: April 24Published: April 25, 2024Read time: 1min

Consumer Sentiment Monitor

Consumer Sentiment Monitor - April 2024

Dr Kris Hamer | Director of Insight | British Retail Consortium

“Consumer sentiment in the UK market showed a promising trend in April, with a slight increase in optimism compared to the previous month. Most survey respondents expressed their expectation for the economy to either improve or maintain its current state over the next three months. Notably, younger consumers (Gen Z & Millennials) emerged as the most optimistic group, with 1 in 5 anticipating a positive economic shift in the coming months.

Compared with March, we observed a slight increase in consumers who described their finances as being comfortable. However, on the flip side, there was a decrease in respondents who described their financial situation as coping. There was no change in the percentage of consumers planning on reducing their spending this month, with reducing leisure spending, buying cheaper products and purchasing less remaining the top behaviours for this group.  Consumer non-essential spending priorities remained aligned with last month, with dining out, leisure, travel and home improvements as the key spending priorities ahead.

This month, we also asked consumers for their thoughts on the most important issues facing the country. Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) said the NHS & health is a key issue, followed by the economy (41%) and immigration (30%). Notably, Gen Z (18-27 years old) were most likely to consider housing a key issue, while Boomers are more concerned about immigration than the other groups.”