Despite persistent inflation, a cost-of-living crisis and rising interest rates, consumer spending was more robust than many would have predicted in 2023. So, what does this mean for buying behaviours in 2024?

With another year of economic uncertainty behind us, our latest research shows consumers remain concerned about their finances, with only a marginal improvement in sentiment since last year. This indicates consumer spending intentions will continue to be impacted throughout 2024 with any meaningful growth largely off the cards. Steady and stable spending is likely to be the continued theme.

On the supply side, input costs have come back down, and year-on-year are in the negative. Input costs such as energy and fuel are much higher than pre-pandemic, and some areas of the consumer markets sector have found it harder to pass on these rising costs to customers than others. 2024 presents a set of new challenges when it comes to input costs such as the announcement of a higher-than-expected national living wage increase and the planned rises in business rates and rent reviews tied to the Retail Price Index (RPI) signal that the cost crisis is not over yet.

The focus for many consumer markets businesses in 2024 will be on profit overgrowth. With leadership rationalising every area of the business, from supply chain to the adoption of technology to become more efficient and cost savvy, with a focus on maintaining margin.

Explore in more depth our analysis of the changing consumer behaviours that will define 2024 in our consumer markets outlook 2024 report.