Portuguese Consumers Feel More Confident for 2026 — Here’s What They Plan to Spend On
- Suf Zen (Asaf Eyzenkot)
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Tourism matters, but local demand is the stabiliser. The 2026 signals are clear: travel, home upgrades, and practical tech.
One of the most useful signals for business builders is not a headline about tourism or government policy, but the mood of local consumers. A recent Cetelem study suggests that confidence is improving: about half of Portuguese consumers expect 2026 to be better than 2025, while a much smaller share expects it to worsen.
What makes the study especially valuable is that it doesn’t stop at sentiment—it shows intentions.
The top priorities are travel, home renovations, and technology purchases. In other words, people are planning to spend on experiences, improve their living environment, and buy tools that make daily life easier.
For founders and investors, this is a reminder that Portugal is not only a “tourist economy.”
Domestic demand matters. In many sectors, it is the difference between a business that only thrives in summer and a business that stays stable all year.
The travel intention is particularly interesting because it doesn’t only benefit airlines and hotels. It creates spillover for experiences, food and drink, wellness, and weekend-based offers. When people prioritise travel, they are often willing to spend on convenience and clarity. Businesses that package their offer well and make it easy to book tend to capture that demand faster than businesses that require the customer to “figure it out.”
The renovation signal is also practical. A significant share of consumers want to invest in improving their homes, which supports not only construction and trades, but also the ecosystem around them. Projects go wrong when coordination is poor, timelines drift, and costs become unclear. So there is meaningful opportunity in services that make renovation simpler—project management, reliable sourcing, predictable pricing, and clear communication.
Technology purchases sit in a similar category. This is not always about cutting-edge innovation. Often it’s about useful upgrades. For service businesses, that means customer experience matters more than ever: how fast it is to get a quote, how easy it is to schedule, how clear the pricing is, and how smoothly someone can pay and receive confirmation.
The study also notes caution around credit usage, with many consumers not planning to finance purchases, while a meaningful minority may consider it. That’s an important design clue. Offers that are transparent and sensibly packaged tend to perform better than offers that depend on complex financing, confusing bundles, or surprise add-ons.
If you are building in Portugal, the simplest takeaway is this: design your business for locals in March, not only tourists in August. When you do that, growth becomes more stable, and marketing becomes easier because your offer speaks to real daily priorities.
How can Burtucala help you?
Burtucala helps founders turn market signals into a practical business model.
We support concept validation, pricing and packaging, go-to-market planning, and operational setup so your business feels “easy to buy from.”
We also help structure your company correctly for how you will sell—whether that’s B2C, B2B, services, or subscriptions—so you don’t outgrow your setup.
