Northern Ireland consumers more worried in Nov, suggesting Christmas spend will again be careful

Posted on: 11 Dec 2025

Northern Ireland consumers more worried in Nov, suggesting Christmas spend will again be careful

• Worries build regarding economic outlook and household finances, however NI consumer sentiment still more resilient then elsewhere

• 44% have less money to spend on Christmas 2025 than a year ago and consumers are likely to cut back on expenditure but somewhat less than last year

• Over half of Northern Ireland consumers will use their income to fund Christmas and almost a third will use their savings, both large and small

11th December: Findings from the latest quarterly Credit Union Northern Ireland Consumer Sentiment Survey (in partnership with Core Research) show that Northern Ireland consumer confidence fell materially between August and November 2025, reversing all of the improvement seen in the previous three months.
Increased negativity about the global and local economy coupled with the impact of stubbornly high inflation and a tough Budget on household spending power combined to produce a notably gloomier Northern Ireland consumer of late.

Some part of the weakening evident in the November data may simply be a correction from the pronounced, and possibly premature, positivity evident in the August survey as recent developments at home and abroad suggest 2026 could be another challenging year in economic and financial terms.

It should also be noted that Northern Ireland consumer sentiment looks to be broadly similar at end 2025 as it was a year ago. Reflecting ongoing uncertainty and continuing cost of living pressures, it seems that the past twelve months have been a case of one step forward and one step back for Northern Ireland consumers.

The weakening in Northern Ireland consumer sentiment between August and November was comparable to that seen in corresponding confidence measures for the UK and US over the same period while consumer sentiment in the Republic of Ireland was largely unchanged. The largely unchanged level of consumer sentiment in Northern Ireland now to that of a year ago contrasts with clearly weaker consumer confidence readings elsewhere through that time.  

Speaking on the release of the November data and analysis, Martin Fisher, Northern Ireland Manager with the Irish League of Credit Unions noted; “It is disappointing but not entirely surprising that consumer sentiment has weakened of late.  The survey also shows that Northern Ireland consumers are being careful in their Christmas spending, but cutbacks are likely to be less widespread than last year. For all the financial challenges and opportunities that Christmas and the rest of the year present, Northern Ireland households can count on the support of their local credit union.
 
Austin Hughes, economist, who prepared the analysis noted; “Exceptionally negative commentary in the run-up to the November Budget, coupled with ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living clearly weighed on the mood of Northern Ireland consumers of late. The tone of the sentiment survey suggests that Northern Ireland consumers may believe the worst is over, but they see no signs as yet of any marked improvement in economic and financial conditions.”
 
The full report with commentary is attached. Key findings include:

• 58% believe the economy will weaken over the next 12 months (up from 45% in August 2025) while 23% believe it will improve (down from 29% in August 2025).

• 42% believe that unemployment will rise over the next 12 months (up from 41% in August 2025). 29% believe it will fall in the next 12 months (up from 28% in August 2025).

• 42% believe the financial situation of their household is worse now than 12 months ago (versus 37% in August 2025), while 27% believe it has improved (versus 33% in August 2025).

• 27% feel the financial situation of their household will improve over the next 12 months (down from 35% recorded in August 2025), while 34% believe it will weaken (versus 30% in August 2025).

• 14% of Northern Ireland consumers believe November was a good time to buy big ticket items (versus 21% in August 2025) and 19% believe it is a bad time (versus 16% in August 2025).

• In terms of seasonal expenditure at Christmas, Northern Irish consumers stated the following:

  • 39% have the same amount of money to spend this year compared to last year, while 44% have a lower amount when compared to the same period in 2024.

  • This year, 42% of consumers have less to spend on Christmas entertainment, while 38% will have the same amount of money as in 2024.

  • 39% of consumers will spend the same amount of money on Christmas presents this year, while 42% will have less to spend when compared to 2024.

• The latest Consumer Sentiment Index also looked at how consumers will fund their Christmas 2025 expenditure (gifts, entertainment etc.), compared to 2023. This year, 53% of consumer will use their own income, down from 57% in 2023. 32% said they would use savings this year, up from 28% in 2023 and 6% said they would borrow money to fund expenditure this year (compared to 5% in 2023).

 
Ends.
 
About the Northern Ireland Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey
The Northern Ireland Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey is a quarterly survey of a representative sample of 350 adults. Core Research undertake the survey administration and data collection for the survey. This tranche of the survey was live between the 5^th and 25^th November 2025
The full report can be accessed here.