The new year has shown green shoots of consumer optimism, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Opinium Consumer Sentiment Monitor, which reports expectations for the state of the economy improving to -32 in January, up from -38 in December.

The monitor tracks consumers’ current and future feelings about their personal finances, the UK economy, and their category-level shopping intentions over the next three months.

In addition to indications of cautious optimism about the state of the economy, respondents said their personal financial situation improved to -8, up from -10 in December.

“The new year brought hints of optimism, with the second consecutive improvement in consumer confidence in the economy and in people’s own finances. This was the highest in five months, though similar to a year earlier,” commented Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium.

Personal saving rose to +2 in January, up from -9 in December. By contrast, personal spending on retail fell to -6 in January, down from +6 in December, while personal spending overall fell to +5, down from +17 in December. This was expected as the festive season came to a close, noted Dickinson, adding that January’s results were encouraging but showed the Government needed to do more to build momentum and restore consumer confidence.

“With wages still struggling to keep pace with higher costs of living, many people feel as though neither their own finances nor the wider economy is moving forward. And if business costs continue to accelerate through 2026—from rising business rates to new regulatory burdens—then the risk is clear: inflation remains stubbornly high, and consumer confidence could falter once again,” added Dickinson.