23% net optimism

↑+1pts on last week ↓-3pts on last year

10 Apr 2026

Easter held up a mirror, few liked what they saw

Easter used to be a circuit breaker. Even in 2022, peak cost of living crisis, it delivered a five-point confidence bounce. People scraped it together. Found a way. Got creative with the egg hunt, did a lower-key roast, made it feel like something. This year the bounce was two. Smallest we’ve ever measured.

And here’s what’s strange: it’s not really the money. CPI at Easter has roughly halved since 2022. If cost were the thing, this Easter should have been easier. It wasn’t. Fewer day trips, fewer gifts, fewer restaurant meals, fewer friends round than at any point in five years. Even fewer than when things were objectively worse.

People didn’t choose a smaller Easter. They ran out of the energy it takes to make it feel special.

What’s gone is the fight. In 2022 people were angry and determined. In 2026 the anger’s burned out. What’s left is flatness. Life still has the same shape (work, shop, cook, sleep) but the bits that used to break it up, the spontaneous plans, the small celebrations, the stuff that made a Tuesday different from a Saturday, have been quietly edited out. “Just living for today” has overtaken “planning my future” in our tracking. First time ever.

The long weekend didn’t restore anyone. It just showed us how far things have drifted.

Based on Konfidant's weekly survey and qualitative interviews. Base: 2,000 UK adults per week.