Consumer sentiment finished 2025 on a subdued note as concerns over living costs continued to dampen confidence, despite the economy’s strong growth, a survey has found today.
The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey rose only slightly to 61.2 in December, from 61 in November.
Consumer confidence has barely moved from April’s two-year low of 58.7 at the height of US tariff concerns, and is far lower than both the reading of 73.9 a year ago and the long-term survey average of 83.6.
By contrast, consumers’ mood across the euro zone and in neighbouring Britain has improved since also plunging in April on trade-related concerns.
“The past year has seen a broadly based downgrade of Irish consumer thinking in relation to economic conditions and their own financial circumstances,” the survey’s authors wrote.
“Given the importance of the US to the Irish economy, it might be expected that trade concerns would weigh heavily on the thinking of Irish consumers,” they said.
The economy as measured by modified domestic demand (MDD) – officials’ preferred metric – has defied cautious sentiment and recent worries over the impact of tariffs, growing by 4.1% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025.