The shift of the economic landscape into unsteady territory over the last couple of years has seen consumer confidence fall to the lowest levels seen historically across Europe. Reaching the record low of -28.6 in September 2022 after the beginning of unprecedented interest rate hikes from the ECB, a level lower than recorded during both the global financial crisis (GFC) (-22.4) and the pandemic (-27.4), consumer confidence is now beginning to slowly increase. In May 2024, consumer confidence was at -14.3 in the eurozone, the highest this has been since February 2022. 

OECD data shows household savings (as a percentage of disposable income) declined by an average of 4 percentage points in 2022 from the year before, partly attributed to the high inflationary environment at a time when consumer disposable income was squeezed and less money was attributed to saving as a result. This was also partly the result of excess savings build up during the pandemic. 2020 was a record year for household savings, whereby lockdown restrictions during the pandemic meant many were able to save higher than usual amounts. 

_{Read the articles within Spotlight: European Grocery Market 2024 below.}