LONDON, September 25 — British consumer confidence unexpectedly rose to a more than two-year high this month, according to the market research firm GfK, adding to recent signs of resilience in the UK economy even as the mood of households remains firmly negative. GfK’s Consumer Confidence Barometer climbed to its highest level since August 2024, shortly after the governing Labour Party came to power. The reading defied expectations: a Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a fall.
The mechanics here are simple enough — the headline index rose one point from the previous month, but it still sits below zero, which is GfK’s own marker for pessimism outweighing optimism among consumers. Follow the money and you find a survey that improved without turning positive.
A headline that flatters, a level that does not
Two components did the lifting. GfK said consumers’ confidence in the economic outlook also rose to its highest level since August 2024, while the mood around personal finances hit an eight-month high. Those are the sub-indices that matter most to retailers and lenders, because they track how households see their own wallets rather than the wider economy.
The catch is in the caveat. Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, cautioned that the improving headline score masks continued weakness.
“While the headline score continues to improve, confidence is still firmly in negative territory. With inflation, energy and fuel prices rising, could we soon see consumer sentiment falter?” he said, noting that the deteriorating inflation outlook could start to weigh on households. That is the tension running through the release.
Sentiment improved in September; the cost pressures Bellamy flags did not go away. On closer reading, GfK’s own director is asking whether the improvement can survive the next round of price increases.
A mixed picture across the trackers
GfK was not the only gauge of sentiment published this month, and the others did not agree. Separate consumer confidence readings from YouGov/Cebr and LSEG/Ipsos hit their highest readings since February. Surveys from BRC/Opinium and S&P Global, by contrast, showed a fall in consumer confidence.
That is a mixed picture across the various trackers — enough divergence to make any single reading a fragile basis for a broader claim about the British consumer. The GfK barometer is a long-running measure of UK household sentiment, which is why the market treats it as a benchmark rather than a one-off.
Its headline score remaining below zero indicates that pessimism still outweighs optimism among consumers, regardless of the direction of travel. The unexpected improvement adds to recent signs of resilience in the British economy. Whether that resilience holds is the open question.
Analysts will weigh whether the optimism can be sustained against rising inflation, energy and fuel prices — the same forces Bellamy names as the risk to sentiment. The survey was reported by Reuters on Friday, September 25, 2026, with reporting by Andy Bruce and editing by Suban Abdulla.
No further figures, forecasts or quotes beyond those in the GfK release and the Reuters report are established here. What to watch next is whether the sub-indices that drove September’s gain — economic outlook and personal finances — keep rising once the inflation and energy costs Bellamy cites feed through to household budgets. If they do not, the more-than-two-year high will look less like a turning point and more like a pause.
