Consumer Mindset - January 2026
January is the month when good intentions collide with hard reality. It is a time traditionally associated with fresh starts and renewed discipline, yet it is also when the cost of everyday life feels most exposed. The excesses of December give way to bank statements, energy bills and grocery shops that no longer feel discretionary. In 2026, that collision feels sharper than usual.
Affordability has reasserted itself as the defining pressure of the new year. Our research shows that the strain is not evenly distributed across spending categories, nor is it abstract. It is concentrated in the unavoidable rhythms of daily life. Energy sits at the centre of concern, followed closely by groceries. These are not occasional purchases that can be postponed or downgraded; they are weekly, sometimes daily, reminders of constraint. When costs rise here, they do more than stretch budgets. They recalibrate how people feel about progress, security and control.
Housing continues to exert a heavy gravitational pull, with rent and mortgage payments remaining a significant source of pressure for around half of households. What is striking, however, is the elevation of childcare and education into this same tier of concern. For parents, these costs now sit alongside food, energy and housing as core stressors, intensifying the sense of a “squeezed middle” where responsibility grows but flexibility shrinks. In contrast, discretionary categories such as technology, clothing, leisure and holidays register lower pressure, not because they are immune to inflation, but because they are increasingly seen as optional. When trade-offs are required, these are the areas people feel they can still control.
This narrowing of focus is mirrored in how people think about the year ahead. New Year’s resolutions for 2026 reveal a population quietly reordering its priorities around sustainability rather than transformation.
Health and wellbeing dominate. Improving physical fitness, eating better and protecting mental health top the list, reflecting a desire not for reinvention, but for resilience. After years of volatility, people are looking to stabilise their energy and emotional reserves rather than push for radical change.
Financial control forms the second major pillar. One in three people want to save more or improve their finances, a resolution that speaks less to ambition than to reassurance. In a context where confidence in the wider economy has softened and faith in external support has waned, managing money becomes an act of self-preservation. It is notable that this sits alongside, rather than ahead of, wellbeing goals. Financial health is being reframed not as an end in itself, but as a means of protecting quality of life.
The third theme is connection. A quarter of people want to spend more time with family and friends, reinforcing the role of relationships as a buffer against uncertainty. This is not escapism. It is a pragmatic recognition that when external conditions feel unstable, meaning is found closer to home.
Taken together, these patterns suggest a public adapting rather than retreating. There is no collapse in confidence, but there is a clear recalibration of expectations. In 2026, value will be judged less by aspiration and more by relief, usefulness and credibility. Affordability is no longer a single issue. It is the lens through which the year ahead is being planned.
