Scottish Consumer Sentiment Indicator: 2025 Quarter 1

Key points

In Q1 2025, the Scottish Consumer Sentiment Indicator remained negative and stood at -6.5, decreasing by 1.6 points compared to Q4 2024 and indicating weakening sentiment over the quarter.

Sentiment weakened slightly over the past year, with the indicator decreasing by 0.3 points compared to Q1 2024. The indicator is weaker than the quarterly series average (-1.9) and has fallen to its lowest level since Q3 2023.

Figure 1: The Scottish Consumer Sentiment Indicator fell by 1.6 points over the quarter to -6.5 in Q1 2025

Consumer Sentiment, quarterly net balance, Q2 2013 to Q1 2025

Introduction

The Scottish Consumer Sentiment Indicator is a composite measure of consumer sentiment in Scotland based on a quarterly survey of households’ current sentiment and future expectations of: Scottish economic performance, security of households’ financial position, and attitudes to spending money. Excel tables of the results are available online alongside the publication, and include a monthly breakdown of the results.

The latest survey for Q1 2025 was conducted online between 1 January and 31 March 2025, with a total sample size of 3,250 adults. The indicator represents the balance of respondents who report that consumer sentiment is positive/negative.

An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland

These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Scottish Government statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.