New analysis from V12 Retail Finance reveals that UK consumers have become more intentional in how and when they make high-value purchases, with finance increasingly used across a wider range of age groups. Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, demand for big-ticket items remained resilient through 2025 and into early 2026, supported by clear seasonal patterns and a strong start to the year, says the PoS finance specialist.
"These trends echo wider movements across UK retail, where major trade bodies and national retailers have reported robust promotional‑period performance and continued consumer focus on value," it continues.
"Home-related spending has held firm despite economic pressures, with industry commentary highlighting a rising reliance on structured budgeting tools for higher-value purchases. V12’s data shows these dynamics are increasingly reflected in PoS finance behaviour."
V12 says its data highlights "a clear shift" toward more deliberate timing of major purchases. Categories such as furniture, jewellery and consumer electricals saw predictable peaks around Black Friday, Christmas and January, reflecting shoppers’ growing tendency to align high-value purchases with discount periods.
Beyond seasonal categories, V12’s data points to sustained, multi-season growth in the home improvement sector. Higher‑value projects and increased investment in areas such as energy efficiency supported strong performance in 2025, with the category showing early signs of continued momentum into 2026.
This resilience mirrors wider national trends in strong retail sales volumes. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales volumes rose by 1.3% in 2025, for the second consecutive year in 2025. Falling inflation has also helped ease pressure on household budgets, with CPI easing to 3.4% by the end of 2025, down sharply from its 2022 peak, supporting confidence in discretionary spend.
“In categories linked to the home, whether that’s larger furniture purchases or longer-term improvement projects, we’re seeing customers making more considered decisions,” said Andrew Phillips, MD of V12 Retail Finance. “These are not impulse buys. They are planned investments, and flexible finance is playing a growing role in helping consumers manage project costs responsibly.”
V12 also reports a notable shift in customer demographics. Whereas applications were previously weighted toward 25–34‑year‑olds, demand in 2025 was spread more evenly across the 25–54 age range, with a slight increase in full-time employed and single applicants.
Interest-free and buy‑now‑pay‑later products saw broader adoption among middle-aged shoppers, while interest-bearing finance remained stable and continued to skew slightly older. Across all products, acceptance rates remained steady, it says.
“This broadening in customer profile shows that flexible finance has moved firmly into the mainstream,” adds Andrew. “It’s becoming a budgeting tool for a much wider range of consumers, particularly for structured, higher‑value purchases.”
