Consumer confidence slips

UK consumer confidence fell to -14.1 in the first quarter of 2026, its lowest level since the third quarter of 2023. (credit-connect.co.uk) Deloitte said the index dropped three percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2025, the steepest quarterly fall since the first quarter of 2022. The survey was based on responses from 3,200 UK adults age 18 and older. (credit-connect.co.uk) Five of the six measures inside the index fell. The sharpest decline was in views on household disposable income, down 7.2 percentage points from late 2025 and 9.5 points from a year earlier. (retailtimes.co.uk) Spending plans weakened too. Discretionary spending fell seven percentage points to its lowest level since the first quarter of 2023, while consumers reported “conscious cutting back on non-essentials,” according to Deloitte’s tracker. (caithness-business.co.uk) (travelweekly.co.uk) The drop lands as inflation in the UK was still running at 3.0% in the 12 months to February 2026, with the broader CPIH measure at 3.2%. Those rates were above the Bank of England’s 2% target going into the spring. (ons.gov.uk) Deloitte’s fourth-quarter 2025 tracker had already shown households shifting money toward essentials such as utility bills and away from non-essentials. In that survey, 41% of consumers said they spent more because of rising prices, and one in three said they had cut back on luxuries or treats. (deloitte.com) Travel was one of the few areas that held up in early 2026. Travel Weekly, citing Deloitte data, said holidays were the only leisure category to post a spending increase in the first quarter even as overall confidence fell. (travelweekly.co.uk) Other surveys point in the same direction on household caution. KPMG said in March that rising concern about utility costs was weighing on UK consumer confidence, while Deloitte’s US consumer data for March showed spending confidence stalling even as financial sentiment improved. (retailtimes.co.uk) (deloitte.com) For retailers, airlines and hospitality groups, the next read on inflation on April 22 will show whether the pressure on household budgets is easing or hardening. For now, the first-quarter data shows consumers entering spring 2026 more cautious than they were at any point in the past two and a half years. (gov.uk) (investmentweek.co.uk)