Consumers play it safe amid turmoil

CONSUMER confidence remained static in the first quarter of the year amid ongoing economic concerns, according to Deloitte.

- BY AMBER MURRAY

Confidence edged up slightly by 0.3 percentage points during the initial three months of 2025, but the nation’s sentiment towards the UK economy has sunk to its nadir in over a year.

“The consumer recovery appears to have stalled despite continued strong wage growth, with uncertainty around the economy and other factors such as geopolitical tensions playing on the minds of consumers,” said Celine Fenech, who serves as Deloitte’s consumer insight lead.

A decline in consumer sentiment regarding debt levels was noted, alongside dwindling confidence in household income and job prospects.