Consumer confidence March 2026: Personal finance outlook at a 28-month low

• Overall index fell by -2.9 points
• Household finance measures for the past 30 days (-4.5) and next 12 months (-9.4) declined
• Homeowner outlook deteriorated by -4.9 points
• Job security measures also worsened compared to February (Past 30 days: -1.0; Next 12 months, -2.5)

March saw consumer confidence fall to its lowest point since December 2023, according to the latest data from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The index fell from 108.7 to 105.8 – a decline of -2.9 points – as Britons, homeowners, and employees reported worsening confidence in household finances, perceptions of house prices, and job security.

YouGov collects consumer confidence data every day, conducting over 6,000 interviews a month. Respondents answer questions about household finances, property prices, job security and business activity, capturing their views on the past 30 days and on their forecast for the coming 12 months.

Amid increasing price pressures arising from the conflict in the Middle East, consumers became less confident in their household finances: scores for the past 30 days fell from 89.5 to 85.0 (-5.5). If the retrospective data suggests that the public have already felt the impact to some extent, outlook data paints an increasingly pessimistic picture – scores for the next 12 months plummeted from 95.0 to 85.6 (-9.4).

Other key metrics also deteriorated in March. Homeowners were increasingly glum, with scores for the past 30 days falling from 114.3 to 113.3 (-1.0), while outlook plunged from 134.8 to 129.9 (-4.9).