Period covered: December 24Published: December 23, 2024Read time: 1min

Consumer Sentiment Monitor

Consumer Sentiment Monitor - December 2024

Dr Kris Hamer | Director of Insight | British Retail Consortium

“Confidence in the state of the economy dropped significantly, falling 8 points to -27; the lowest level we’ve recorded since we began the monitor in March 2024. This created a widening gap between expectations of the economy and of people’s own finances, which remained unchanged. Perceptions were heavily skewed by age, with 18–35-year-olds considerably more upbeat than older generations on both questions. With the Golden Quarter nearly over, the public’s spending intentions over the next three months – both in retail and beyond – fell 6 points, with expectations of spending in nearly every retail category falling.

Looking back to the Black Friday Weekend, those who purchased did so overwhelmingly online rather than in-store for every non-food category and spent more than they intended in all categories, consistent with the behaviour we reported in the last edition. Customers thought that deals were better this year than last year, showing that retailers have been working hard to win market share in a tough economy. Black Friday participation varied widely by age group, with three-quarters of boomers saying they didn’t purchase anything, while only around a third of Gen Z didn’t shop.

During the festive season, of those that shop in-store, 52% reported shopping in ‘All Large’ or ‘Mainly Large’ stores, while only 9% shopped in ‘All Small’ or ‘Mainly Small’ shops, showing that shoppers enjoy a mix of stores, especially those where they can tick off lots of items off their list in one place. ”