With 6 years’ worth data the Index of Consumer Sentiment is our quarterly look at how UK consumers are feeling. We’ve seen it respond quickly to changes in the macroeconomic climate, and to the financial pressures that households are under. Consumer sentiment measures how people are feeling and therefore allows us to make predictions about how they will behave. This is an important measure for any business or organisation who needs to understand the mood of the UK consumer.

As well as the overall index, there are two sub-indices. The Index of Current Economic Conditions (ICC) reflects how consumers feel about the current situation. The Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE) reveals their confidence about the future.

Comparing all three indices gives a good sense of how customers feel right now versus their view of the future prospects for the economy, both of which have important implications for their likely spending behaviour.

Our early release of the data gives a snapshot of the latest trends, while our full reports explore the latest results in more details and provide in-depth analysis on what is driving the changes in consumer sentiment.