Thinking Ahead: Your Leading-Edge Insights Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

After January's slump, February brought a breath of fresh air with all five measures of the Index on the rise, lifting the overall score to a still chilly -20. The star of the show? Consumers' outlook on their personal finances for the coming year, which jumped a cheerful four points! Views on personal finances over the past 12 months also got a three-point boost, matching the uplift in opinions on the general economy over the same period.

But hold onto your hats – despite these sunny spells, the economic forecast remains stormy, with views on the economy still deep in the negative zone and lower than a year ago.

Join NIQ’s Neil Bellamy and the ever-curious Lucy Green as they dive into the digits, dissecting differences by age group and income level in their regular segment, Data Guru Corner.

2025 kicked off with the Overall Index Score down five points. All five measures that form the Index dropped, with particularly steep falls in consumer views on the wider UK economy, both looking back a year (down 7 points) and at what’s in store for the next 12 months (8 points lower). NIQ’s Neil Bellamy and moderator Lucy Green review the scores and their underlying causes. In the first Data Guru Corner of the year, they discuss why an index is used to measure confidence and explain it is calculated. With the strict sampling methodology consistent since 1974 at the launch of the Consumer Confidence Barometer, this dataset provides valuable historical comparisons to understand levels of confidence over the last five decades.

In this episode of Thinking Ahead, GfK’s Neil Bellamy and moderator Lucy Green discuss the April 2024 results of UK Consumer Confidence Index. The overall Index score rose two points to -19, an encouraging development. People’s view of their own personal finances in the next 12 months held steady and the other four measures that make up the Index increased by between two and four points. There is a lot of ground to make up to get us nearer to the 50 year index average of -10, but the measures are moving in the right direction for now. In Data Guru Corner we discuss regional data and analyses.

January 2024 marks 50 years of the UK Consumer Confidence Barometer. There is no other consumer research project with the longevity, rigour and reliability. Get the report now >>

GfK Consumer Life is returning to explore what consumers feel, think, need, and ultimately expect from brands today. Drawing on rich, industry-standard trends data, experts from GfK Consumer Life will look at what’s driving consumers, and what your brand can do to connect now and succeed in 2024. 

In this episode, we'll talk about: 

• Technology saga – Leveraging our evolving relationship  
• Post Gen Z - Gearing up for Gen Alpha

If you missed it, part one covered the fundamentals & sustainability! 

In this episode of Thinking Ahead, GfK’s Neil Bellamy and moderator Lucy Green discuss the March 2024 results. The overall Index score remained at -21 this month with no move from February. There was some positive news in the view of our personal finances in the next 12 months, which rose two points. However, the Major Purchase Index fell two points and the Savings Index declined by four points. The improvements in the overall Index seen most months last year have now vanished. Neil explains what these scores mean and the impact of the March 6th Budget on them. March’s Data Guru Corner focuses on sampling. Tune in!

January 2024 marks 50 years of the UK Consumer Confidence Barometer. There is no other consumer research project with the longevity, rigour and reliability. Get the report now >>

GfK Consumer Life is returning to explore what consumers feel, think, need, and ultimately expect from brands today. Drawing on rich, industry-standard trends data, experts from GfK Consumer Life will look at what’s driving consumers, and what your brand can do to connect now and succeed in 2024. 

In this episode, we'll talk about: 

• Focusing on the fundamentals - Getting back to brand basics 
• The sustainability boost - The circular economy gains momentum 

In part two, we'll talk all things tech & gen alpha! 

One-quarter of all UK mobile phones sales in 2023 were for second-hand or refurbished handsets 

Explore the dynamic shift in consumer behaviour within the UK mobile phone market in 2023, where a significant 25% of all mobile phones purchased were either second-hand or refurbished, up from the 19% in 2021. Join Lizzie Bailey and Chris Purnell, experts from GfK UK, as they unravel the intriguing statistics that underpin this trend. In this episode of the Thinking Ahead podcast, we delve into the motivations behind the surge in used and refurbished phone acquisitions. Gain valuable insights into the demographics of those opting for pre-owned devices and discover the driving forces behind their choices. Is it solely influenced by price considerations, or are environmental concerns playing a role in shaping this shift? Tune in now to unravel the nuanced layers of this evolving consumer landscape.

If you want to find out more, click here to read our press release. 

The Consumer Confidence Index took a knock in February, dropping two points to -21, with all but one of the measures that make up the topline score down. Our expert Neil Bellamy explains what’s happened and why the Personal Financial Situation metric remained at zero. In our regular feature, Data Guru Corner, he looks back over 50 years of data to evaluate how long it takes consumer sentiment to recover from a slump, and what this might suggest for a recovery this election year. 

Discover the pulse of the automotive industry in our latest podcast episode, where we unpack the Future of Mobility report from GfK AutoMobility™. From electric vehicle demand to consumer preferences, we dive into key questions shaping the market.

Tune in as we explore brand resonance, EV adoption hurdles, and the future of autonomous vehicles. Gain actionable insights for your 2024 business strategies in just a few minutes. 

The Living with Technology report explores how consumer tech sentiment, usage, and adoption have shifted and continue to evolve amid major disruptions.

In this episode, we sit down with GfK VP-CMI Veronica Chen to talk about the technology trends marketers should consider for the year ahead. 

The sudden acceleration of the digital lifestyle during COVID lockdowns sent the sales of electronics and adoption of streaming services soaring. Then purchases slowed as consumers re-entered the "real" world and prioritized experiences over possessions. And the introduction of ChatGPT last fall was met with both record-speed adoption and deep concerns.