Consumer Optimism Tracker
The weekly read on UK consumer optimism –
how Britain feels, who feels it, why, and what brands should do next.
07 Aug 2026Published 30 Oct 2026Konfidant Week 31Read time: 2 min
UK Consumer Optimism at +27 as we want a summer of me-time
We’re keeping the news out and focusing on small wins to bring us joy as summer continues in full swing.
Net optimism, four-week rolling · 13 Aug 2021 to 7 Aug 2026
Four-week headline +27 · 1 point lower than last year
Latest weekly signal +26 · 2 points lower than last year
Four-week headline +27
1 point lower than last year
What's changing
News | Out of mind – Burnham is holding the ship steady |
Spending | Known costs, known rewards – skipping the blank cheques |
Company | Me-time – focusing on the quiet |
Childcare | The scramble can be hard – easy options are expensive |
Children | Want to enjoy time together – there are still a lot of days to fill |
Climate | Scared, not moved – too big to tackle alone |
Enjoying the here-and-now with me-time
As August begins, we’re focusing on keeping the news out and enjoying the here-and-now. Those of us following the news is down 4 points on last year, and for those of us who are keeping up, Burnham is doing a good job so far at steadying the ship, with net government trust up 10 points since he took office – although the real challenges are yet to come.
The hot UK summer has kept things local, which means spending has shifted to known cost, known rewards like subscription services, rather than blank-cheque moments like holidays and eating out. This is also reflected in the amount of time we’re spending with others, as only 40% of us have met up with friends in the last 2 weeks – we’re focusing on me-time, preferring quiet coffee time and wind-down TV over meals out and events.
Alongside this, the familiar summer childcare juggle is biting harder – holiday joy is being found in the weather, rather than days out and family time. 31% of us with infant children are feeling irritable around others, up 10 points on last year; we can’t afford not to work, and so childcare becomes another admin task.
The news of the wildfires is getting through – 55% of us are terrified about the planet, yet only 38% of us have sustainability as a personal priority. We’re feeling the threat of climate change, but the problem feels bigger than us, somebody else’s problem.
“The sunshine isn’t showing any sign of stopping, so summer will continue to be kept close to home. We want small wins and sure things, so brands should keep out the hidden costs.”
Alison Bainbridge, Co-Founder, Konfidant
Brand actions: keep the sun shining
The holiday mood will be holding into next week – except for families awaiting A-level results:
- We want to know what we’re getting – keep the sure things coming
- Take away some of the admin struggles – make family time less of a chore
- Don’t mention September – nobody’s ready yet
About the data
- The measure
- Every week we ask around 2,000 people across the UK how optimistic they feel about life – not only about money. Consumer Optimism subtracts the share who feel pessimistic from the share who feel optimistic. Alongside the survey we follow a community of 50 UK households, which is where the why comes from. The headline is a four-week rolling score, so one noisy week can't move the story.
- Sample and method
- Around 2,000 UK adults aged 18+, surveyed online and weighted by age, gender, region and social grade.
- Current wave
- n=9,209. Fieldwork: 05 Aug 2026.
- Question
- “Please click below to indicate how optimistic you are feeling about life in general at the moment.” The question scale includes the following responses: Very optimistic (Optimistic) Quite optimistic (Optimistic) Neither optimistic nor pessimistic (Neutral) Quite pessimistic (Pessimistic) Very pessimistic (Pessimistic) The Optimism net score is calculated as percentage optimistic minus percentage pessimistic.
- Headline score
- Four-week rolling average, around 8,000 interviews. Percentage-point change against the same four weeks last year.
- History
- Weekly since March 2020.
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