Speculation around the Autumn budget created a fair amount of anxiety amongst the British public. Our pre-budget polling showed 51% of Britons thinking that they were worse off, up from 41% in March, and three in five say that they are more fearful than hopeful about how the budget might impact their own financial situation.

Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK politics at Ipsos said: “The data underscores the gravity of the widespread and deeply entrenched economic pessimism prevalent across Britain – a level of concern that is as bad today as some of the historically toughest periods in our nation’s past.”

With the announcements now made and some key tax rises delayed, it remains to be seen whether people will be shifting out of ‘wait and see’ mode, into a more optimistic frame of mind or remaining cautious over the festive season. Our post-budget polling shows that concerns remain, with 56% of the public are more concerned about Britain’s economy following the budget, while 11% are more reassured and 22% say neither.

Ipsos measures a comprehensive view of Christmas and what we saw last year, after Black Friday weekend, was a dip in enthusiasm for the season as the reality of shopping and preparation became more real. This year, Christmas excitement is holding steady so far and 51% of us are excited about the holiday.

In the choices of brand communication that’s landing well, humour, festive favourites and joyful escapism is proving popular so far. We have spotted a little tension coming across for one of the campaigns that talks about savings more directly. This campaign while doing well on key effectiveness measures is also being spontaneously recalled as the least favourite ad by 11% of the British public. Being reminded of tightening of belts at Christmas may be a little too on the nose for some.

To delve a little deeper into intentions, we gathered fresh data from 18–25-year-old adults in Great Britain, to understand people’s plans around Christmas and spending. The research was conducted online between 25-26 November using Ipsos Fast Facts.

Overall, we learned that the majority ( 91%) intend to celebrate Christmas this year. 44% agree with the statement “I plan spend less on Christmas overall than I did last year, vs. 27% who disagree and 23% who neither agree nor disagree. Those who plan to spend less tended to be younger and those with an income below £20,000 per annum.

Almost one in two Britons plan to set strict budget for their Christmas spending. 46% agree they have less money to spend compared to previous years. There is a significant gender difference with women feeling the pinch more as 54% of women agree that they have less money compared to previous years, compared to 38% of men.

The overall pattern is one of prudence and restraint. Only 28% of us agree that Christmas is a time to splash out and not worry about financial pressures vs. 50% who disagree. Only 20% claim they will be buying what they want irrespective of costs. In other findings, 28% agree they will only be buying presents for children in the family only, not adults, while 50% disagree.

We will be looking to see if confidence improves in the next two weeks. As it currently stands, people are braced to be more cautious than not, so offering practical solutions, such as Aldi’s recent commitment to offering the UK’s lowest-priced Christmas dinner, may win the day.

Perhaps framing these solutions in helpful and empathetic ways (eg framing as smart vs value) will go some way to winning hearts and minds, particularly for younger people and women who have stated they are feeling most stretched.

Samira Brophy is senior director at Ipsos