Consumer Optimism Tracker
The weekly read on UK consumer optimism –
how Britain feels, who feels it, why, and what brands should do next.
25 Sep 2026Published 23 Oct 2026Konfidant Week 38Read time: 2 min
UK Consumer Optimism at +30 as continued warm weather makes saying yes easy
We’re still feeling the normal and want it to last, so are planning ahead – although finances are not as good as we think.
Net optimism, four-week rolling · 1 Oct 2021 to 25 Sep 2026
Four-week headline +30 · 4 points higher than last year
Latest weekly signal +31 · 6 points higher than last year
Four-week headline +30
4 points higher than last year
What's changing
Mood | Steady – summer keeps going and the bugs are banished for now |
Money | Feels better than it is – money isn’t feeling scary but the bills disagree |
Plans | Enjoying a yes – keeping the normal going with future plans |
Credit | Normal on tick – spread payments at a record high |
Connection | Out, not in – hosting would be paying to treat others |
Budget | The older the scarier – over-65s are acting now |
Warm fronts make the yeses easy
September has been warm and calm, bringing a much-welcome sense of normality – and as life is feeling more normal, fears over money management are down 3 points on average. 42% of us are allowing ourselves some treats, compared to 35% on average at this time of year. A small minority are daring to plan further ahead, committing to bigger purchases and booking things to look forward to.
However, as money feels better than it is and the cost of living continues to rise, more of us are leaning on credit to keep the normal going – 15% of us are using credit to spread the cost, the highest level in over four years. The normal also only extends to ourselves, with socialising in the home down 5 points from this time in 2025 – we’re stretching for ourselves and treating others in our own homes can wait until our finances are properly better.
The Budget is also coming into view, particularly for those over-65s, who are 4 percentage points more likely to be getting their wills in order before pensions become subject to inheritance tax in April 2027.
“Money is feeling good right now and we’re saying yes, but brands should keep in mind that as bills rise and the Budget comes, this feeling won’t last forever.”
Laura Gillespie, Co-Founder, Konfidant
Brand actions: easy distractions and back-up plans
Nights draw in and the sniffles arrive, but we’re not battening down yet – so keep the anticipation coming:
- Make saying yes easy – avoid the faff and the fees, focus on the buzz of something to look forward to
- Create something to share whilst we wait – lean into big telly moments, ward off isolation
- Be the supportive friend when money worries hit hard – offer a way forward rather than regret over decisions made
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=9,157. Fieldwork: 23 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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