Consumer Optimism Tracker
The weekly read on UK consumer optimism –
how Britain feels, who feels it, why, and what brands should do next.
04 Sep 2026Published 28 Oct 2026Konfidant Week 35Read time: 2 min
UK Consumer Optimism at +30 as September has a soft landing
Routine is back, the news is staying out, and money is the argument we’re having with ourselves.
Net optimism, four-week rolling · 10 Sep 2021 to 4 Sep 2026
Four-week headline +30 · 3 points higher than last year
Latest weekly signal +29 · 2 points higher than last year
Four-week headline +30
3 points higher than last year
What's changing
Autumn | Change of pace – a welcome familiar routine |
News | Bubble isn’t bursting – refusing to let the gloom in |
Bank Holiday | Weekend extension – a normal weekend but longer, and glad of it |
Money | In two minds – want to spend but noting price increases |
September reset | Time to get back to it – a stock-take and a tune-up, no 'new me' |
Burnham | Grace period – hoping for better, even if better falls short of good |
Autumn is here – a welcome change of pace
We’re back to reality after the summer and the news is staying out of sight and out of mind – only 44% of us are keeping up with the news, the lowest level since 2021/22. Autumn seems to have arrived overnight and we’re enjoying a change of pace. We have some more shape to our week, and a routine is starting to form.
The last bank holiday of the year felt gentle, with fewer people hosting or initiating plans, but we liked it that way – 44% of us enjoyed doing little, compared to 21% of us last year.
We’re in two minds about our money – we’re coping with necessary adjustments to our lifestyle, but the world is charging more and offering less, and we can’t resist the odd treat. Conversations around money aren’t going away but are focusing on numbers we can all speak and understand – every value mentioned in our community this week was under £25 and carried every emotion.
Burnham is doing a fine job of persuading us that this Autumn Budget will be better, and feelings that it will be a fair budget are up 27 points on last year – although we’re not convinced that better won’t still fall short of good.
“Moving into Autumn, routines are being defrosted and brands should try and slot in. Diaries fill up and life will get less open and easy, so don’t add any more stress as things ramp up.”
Alison Bainbridge, Co-Founder, Konfidant
Brand actions: help us with a light reset, then keep us safe and cosy when money doubts grow
- Keep the tone light – summer weather isn’t gone yet so don’t cosy up too soon
- Cheer the restart – skip the ‘new me’ talk and be a calm friend
- Help us keep control – energy, money, comfort – without the isolation that can come with 'saying no'
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=9,208. Fieldwork: 02 Sep 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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