• Overall index declined (-1.0)
  • Household finance measures for the past 30 days (-6.1) and next 12 months (-4.1) saw the steepest falls
  • Declines in retrospective (-1.3) and forward-looking (-1.0) business activity metrics
  • Only measures that saw meaningful improvements were job security (+3.8) and home value outlook (+3.1)

It was a bleak midwinter for consumer confidence according to the latest data from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The overall index declined in December 2025 from 108.1 to 107.1 (-1.0). The index has not seen a December dropoff since 2021, and it has not fallen by this much in the month of December since 2018.

The most significant deterioration has been seen in measures tracking household finances. December saw retrospective measures fall from 91.7 to 85.6, falling by -6.1 points overall, while outlook slumped from 91.5 to 87.4 (-4.1). This may be partially attributable to Christmas: recent YouGov data found that one in five adults borrowed to cover their festive spending.

Business activity measures also saw a notable drop. The UK’s employees were more likely to report lower levels of workplace activity over the past month, with measures falling from 110.5 to 109.2 (-1.3); simultaneously, outlook for the year ahead grew more pessimistic, with scores falling from 121.2 to 120.2 (-1.0). Job security measures among this same group were more of a mixed bag, falling from 94.4 to 92.7 (-1.7) for the past 30 days. However, workers are more enthusiastic about their future prospects, with outlook improving by +3.8 points from 112.8 to 116.6.

Homeowners were the only group that saw improvement across both measures. Retrospective perceptions of house prices saw a slight movement from 113.2 to 113.3 (+0.1), but optimism for the next year grew by +3.1 points from 113.2 to 113.3.

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