The New Normal of UK Shopping: Anxiety, Adaptation and Changing Priorities
- Rob Bates
- 11 hours ago
- 7 min read
For those of you that have been following our WindowOn StockTake series for a while, you’ll know that we always start off the edition with a look at some of the key measures that we have been tracking long-term, sometimes back to the credit crunch of 2009. So, let’s dive right into it.
Unfortunately, the challenging and uncertain times we have seen over the last few years show no major signs of easing. In 2025, we saw concern amongst UK businesses regarding the rising national insurance rates in April 2025. Combining this with global conflicts, growing trade wars and extreme weathers affecting production, reads for bleak times. The UK shopper has continued to be hit with higher prices, passed on to shoppers by retailers and manufacturers to compensate for these challenges. And it is not only prices where we are being hit, the rise of shrinkflation has meant this is now not just an insider term, as manufacturers decrease portions and strip out ingredients/use alternatives to try to keep costs low.
It is not surprising then that our nationally representative survey of 1,002 UK shoppers shows that the divides between those struggling financially and those not, continues to grow. Although, not all shoppers are feeling economic pressures equally. Understanding the nuances behind these groups is essential for brands and retailers looking to offer genuine support and create meaningful experiences. So, whilst some households are less financially pressured compared to last year, 1/3 are still struggling to make bill payments/cutting major costs (Strong Reactors), more so than we saw in Brexit and the 09 Credit Crunch. Those from a C2DE background and those living with a disability/health condition coninue to be the hardest hit, unfortunately, some of the most vulnerable in society.
Interestingly, when we look at this by age, it appears to be the 45-54 year olds most struggling, with the proportion of ‘Strong Reactors’ growing amongst 45-54 and 55-64 year olds and slightly declining for those aged 25-34 and 35-44 years old. This is a different story compared with what we have seen over the last few years where it has tended to be the 25-34 year olds worst hit financially – those potentially in the early stages of living independently, having children and without the experience in work yet to be maximising incomes.
So, what could this be down to? People aged 45–64 in the UK are juggling rising living costs, heavy family responsibilities, inadequate retirement savings and increasing debt. Many in this age bracket, being currently termed the “sandwich generation”, are simultaneously supporting (adult) children and ageing parents, often providing both financial help and unpaid care, limiting their ability to focus on their own financial wellbeing.
At the same time as the above, soaring household bills, especially energy, food and council tax, have left a significant proportion of 45–64 year olds financially stretched and burdened with mounting debt. These pressures are compounded by widespread anxiety about retirement, with many unsure whether they are saving enough and some reducing pension contributions. Taken together, midlife adults face rising expenses, unstable financial resilience and growing long term insecurity, all contributing to the financial strain felt across this age group. Last year we did a deep dive into Gen-Z, the youngest generation amongst our shoppers, this year we’ll be delving more into Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Generation X (1965-1980) in more detail in articles to be published soon.
Pressured Wallets, Pressured Minds
As we have reported in previous editions, uncertain times along with household financial pressure often leads to high levels of anxiety. Our latest data shows that 31% of UK shoppers feel either extremely or very anxious/distressed about life in general. With 13% extremely anxious/ distressed, the highest top box score we have on record for this measure.18-24 year olds, those from C2DE backgrounds and those with disabilities are the most likely to be feeling this way. The cost of rates/bills, the cost of grocery shopping and immigration to the UK are the specific top 3 most anxiety inducing factors for this year. Anxieties towards immigration and the political situation in the UK have worsened since last year, whilst easing for the Ukraine/Russia war, the conflicts and tensions in the Middle East and concerns regarding the environment.
Greater flexibility, fewer rigid rules. Meal plans that bend, rather than break.
One of the big standouts for us coming out of WO55 has been the change in dietary requirements over the past few years. 72% of our nationally representative survey of 1,002 UK shoppers claim to have no specific diet/ to eat all food groups, a significant increase on 2024 and the highest we’ve seen since starting to collect this measure. Whilst those following a vegetarian diet remains fairly stable, we’ve seen a rise and fall in flexitarian shoppers, peaking in 2022 and then significantly down from 2024. We also see the lowest number of shoppers following a vegan diet that we have seen, just below 1% and significantly down from 2024.
One possible driver behind this is a shift in consumer priorities as cost-of-living pressures, health concerns and convenience influence behaviour. Over the past few years, many shoppers who previously experimented with flexitarian or plant‑based diets may have found these approaches harder to maintain, due to the higher relative cost of products, the perceived complexity of managing multiple dietary rules and/or or the growing availability of affordable mainstream options that feel “good enough” for health and sustainability.
At the same time, the initial momentum behind flexitarian and vegan trends has softened as shoppers become more pragmatic, focusing on balance rather than strict adherence to a particular diet. This is particularly evident in the fall of veganism below 1%, suggesting that while plant-based eating still matters, fewer people see full commitment as necessary to make healthier or more ethical choices.
The rise in those claiming to eat all food groups may therefore reflect a broader cultural shift towards moderation, convenience and flexibility, values that increasingly shape how shoppers navigate food in a more uncertain and time‑pressured world. There has also certainly been a trend towards protein of late, signalling a potential resurgence for meats – 35% of our sample see high-protein as an interest to them.
There is more to come on health and wellness in future articles to be published soon!
Convenience is King
Another point to note is the continued prominence in our data for rapid delivery services such as Uber Eats, Subscription Services such as Hello Fresh and Direct from Brand purchases such as Huel and Heinz to Home. 38% of shoppers claim to have used a rapid grocery delivery service in the last month, 29% have used a food delivery subscription service and 28% have used a direct brand purchase. It appears these emerging channels are here to stay, although players are falling away such as Getir in 2024 and Sainsbury’s just this month winding down their Chop Chop service and bringing it back within Sainsbury’s main app. Sainsbury’s Head of Experience Design, Jim Banks, stated “Customers shouldn’t have to think about which app to use. One place to do the weekly shop. One place to get groceries in as little as 60 minutes. Less friction. Less mental load. More getting on with life. This is a big step forward in simplifying our ecosystem, making shopping feel easier, calmer and more human.”
For Shoppers, Adapting has Become Commonplace
As we previously mentioned, some UK Shoppers are struggling greatly with the cost of living and are therefore having to be very savvy about their spending and adjust their habits. Last year we reported heightened price-consciousness in that we saw record highs of shoppers saying they were ‘more aware of pricing than I used to be’ and that they ‘preferred promotions that save them money rather than giving them more of the same’, both of these numbers remain high, with both up 1% on last year. Promotions, the cheapest prices and having good own label products also remain high on importance, whilst 8 in 10 shoppers continue to avoid wastage as much as possible. It makes sense then that retailers are doing more and more to compete on pricing. One such example is how Tesco have bought back their blue and white striped value range, something they once said shoppers found embarrassing to place in their trolleys.
We’ve also seen some other slight shifts in shopping behaviour, 64% of our WindowOn sample state that they ‘buy larger packs to get more for their money’, up from 60% last year. This measure is of particular importance to our respondents with children in the household. Carefully planning what to buy before getting to the shop, avoiding being tempted to buy things they don’t need and using local shops to minimise petrol use are also increasing in prominence.
But what becomes clear, is that for some, cost-of-living pressures are easing, or potentially were never an issue in the first place. We’ve seen a slight increase in those willing to pay more for top quality groceries/ local products that helps local businesses. Some signs that values still matter. With more to come in these series of reports, we are learning that more purposeful nourishment is rising up the agenda.
One note for manufacturers, this year we added a new measure regarding shrinkflation. 72% of our UK shoppers stated that they were wary of products suffering from shrinkflation, be it through amount or volume. This is increasingly becoming a well-known topic amongst the UK population, posts on social media over Christmas highlighted the shrinkage in tubs of Quality Street or Cadbury’s Heroes. According to Which, ‘Quality Street tubs have shrunk from 600g to 550g this year. Yet at Morrisons the price rose from £6 to £7 – that's a 27% rise per 100g.’. It’ll be interesting to see how this evolves throughout the year.
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