Welcome to Hudson Sandler’s Q4 ‘22 Consumer Snapshot, our quarterly research of over 1,000 nationally representative respondents to test the temperature of UK consumer sentiment.
A bleak midwinter or a cause for optimism?
As we enter what’s traditionally known as the ‘golden quarter’ for retailers, brands and businesses across the consumer-facing industries will be feeling more apprehensive this year than they have done for some time. October data from the Office for National Statistics highlighted that the scars of the pandemic on the UK consumer are bigger than previously feared.
As well as facing significant cross-category price inflation, the UK consumer is grappling with the pain of rising energy prices, the prospect increasing interest rates, and the cloud of geopolitical instability. Our survey indicates that rising energy prices are far and away the issue of greatest concern to UK consumers right now.
