Boots research spotlights a UK 'confidence gap'

Boots has released research pointing to a widespread "confidence gap," and tied it to a new brand campaign.

A study of more than 4,000 UK adults found that 49% appear confident to others while privately struggling with self-doubt, and the same share put on a brave face at least once a week. The effect is sharpest among 18- to 24-year-olds.

The picture is not improving: 69% feel no more confident than a year ago, with 20% feeling less so, and 83% say everyday pressures, from poor sleep to loneliness and appearance worries, have knocked their confidence.

The findings anchor Boots' new brand platform, Give It Some Boots. Its centrepiece is a run of pop-up "Confidence Booths" appearing at UK locations this September: interactive spaces that invite passers-by to step in and sing along to music, a low-stakes way to push slightly outside their comfort zone in public. The concept leans on Boots' finding that 68% say music can instantly change their mood and 69% say singing along lifts their spirits.

Psychologist and broadcaster Dr Linda Papadopoulos is the campaign's expert voice, providing the behavioural framework behind it. She frames "faking" confidence not as inauthenticity but as a normal coping mechanism, and offers three research-backed ways to close the gap: grounded self-talk, stretching your comfort zone, and creating small moments of joy. That middle principle maps directly onto the booths, which are designed to let people experience a small, manageable stretch and come away realising they were fine.

For Boots, it is emotional-territory brand-building, using research and a participatory activation to deepen its wellness positioning and, with 71% of people wanting to feel more confident, connect with a receptive audience.