Friday Five -consumer insights

‍So for my latest Friday Five recommendations, I’m turning to sources of consumer insights. These cover broader trends beyond the museums, heritage and cultural sectors, and provide useful context and understanding about audiences (both external and internal).

1.     VisitBritain/VisitEngland’s Tourism State of the Nation, April 2026, covering inbound and domestic tourism trends – a snapshot in five slides provides a digestible overview.

2.     Consumer spending trends, budgeting habits and financial expectations for 2026 from YouGov plus their most recent Consumer Confidence Index for April (and worth scouring their website for other poll snippets, from views on the new Banksy statue, to Gen Z and their phone habits).

3.     AI and the Future of Work, released this week by The Policy Institute at King’s College London – showing conflicting views on AI and its impact on individuals’ lives, the UK, humanity, work, entry level jobs and children’s career prospects.

4.     Edelman’s 2026 Trust Barometer with a theme of “Trust amid insularity” has some thought-provoking findings around who we trust, and different organisations’ and institutions’ roles in facilitating trust-building.

5.     And for auditory learners, The Rest is Entertainment podcast has kicked off a new series – VIBE SHIFT – with a fascinating episode with Marina Hyde and guest James Kanagasooriam “Have Tradwives Killed Feminism?”. The half hour discussion packs in a lot, spanning influencers, burnout culture, neo-luddism, MAHA, returnism vs futurism and more. Available in all the usual places, linking here to Spotify.

Next week my recommendations will cover data and trends on media consumption…