Lisbon, Aug. 13, 2025 (Lusa) - The percentage of Portuguese consumers who felt financially comfortable at the end of each month rose to 37% in 2024, up three percentage points on the previous year, boosting consumption, according to a report released on Wednesday by Deloitte.
According to data from ConsumerSignals, a database from Deloitte Global that gathers information on consumer spending patterns in various countries, this evolution reflects "a recovery in confidence and economic stability compared to the previous year".
The report also points to an increase in the proportion of Portuguese who said they can spend on things that bring them joy: 39%, two percentage points more than in 2023.
In the same vein, last year the number of Portuguese who assessed their financial situation as worse than the previous year fell from 46% to 37%, and there was also less concern about inflation and a greater willingness to consume, "signalling a growth in financial confidence".
Throughout 2024, the Deloitte report also shows an improvement in the Portuguese perception of their financial situation.
"Compared to the previous year, Portuguese consumers felt more financially stable, with a well-being index higher than the global average," it says, detailing that around 37% said they expected their financial situation to improve next year, three percentage points more than in December 2023.
Despite these "positive signs", the consultancy says that "concern about the future and financial security remained high", with younger consumers (18-34 years old) being the most optimistic: 52% believed that their financial situation will improve, compared to 46% at the end of 2023.
In addition, Portugal remained "among the European countries most apprehensive about rising prices, with more than half of consumers keeping their focus on managing this impact".
Even so, the Portuguese people's intention to consume increased over the past year, especially in non-essential categories, with a growth of 24 percentage points compared to December 2023.
Deloitte notes that this increase was "particularly significant" among consumers between the ages of 18 and 34, who saw a 37% increase in spending intentions and a 39% increase in savings intentions.
The sectors in which the Portuguese spent the most were diverse, with spending intentions in categories such as ‘leisure, entertainment and recreational travel’ (+1%), ‘restaurants/“takeaway” (+1%) and ’electronics and furniture‘ (+1%) growing slightly compared to the previous year, while the categories of 'housing' (-4%) and ’supermarket' (-3%) lost relative weight in household spending.
In the automotive sector, the report states that the intention to buy a car fell slightly in all the geographies analysed, but the drop was "more pronounced" in Portugal: 15% of Portuguese planned to buy a car in the next six months, a drop of two percentage points on the previous year, which compares with 18% at European level.
The ConsumerSignals platform collects data on a monthly basis through surveys of thousands of consumers in 20 countries. In Portugal, 1,000 consumers are surveyed every month on topics such as financial well-being, consumption patterns, savings and spending intentions in areas such as food, transport or health
PD/AYLS// AYLS
Lusa
