Scottish Economic Bulletin: November 2026

Consumer Sentiment

• The Scottish Consumer Sentiment Indicator reflects how people feel the economy is performing, how secure they feel about their household finances and how relaxed they feel about spending money.



• Consumer sentiment fell over the month to September to -10.3, reversing some of the improvement seen over the summer. However, sentiment remains stronger than earlier in the year and is 6.4 points above the recent low of -16.7 recorded in April. ^[9]
• The decrease in September was driven by weaker sentiment in all five sub-indicators. Expectations for the economy declined most sharply, falling 4.9 points in the quarter. This was followed by attitudes to spending (-4.5 points), current household financial position (-4.2 points) and current economy (-3.9 points). In Contrast, expectations for household finances were comparatively stable having only fallen by 0.2 points, indicating that households remained broadly unchanged in their outlook for their own financial circumstances over the month.



• Current household financial security and attitudes to spending sub-indicators remain the weakest of the five sub-indicators. However, compared with their average levels since 2025, current household financial security is 0.1 points higher and attitudes to spending is only 1.6 points lower. This suggests that while households continue to face pressure on their budgets, financial confidence and spending intentions remain broadly in line with their recent historical averages
• The economy index stands 3.2 points below its average level since 2025, reflecting weaker sentiment regarding both current economic conditions and expectations for the economy. Households have become particularly pessimistic about the outlook for the Scottish economy in September, with expectations for the economy falling 3.9 points below its recent average, the lowest of any sub-indicator.