In Australia and across the globe, people are feeling the pinch of the rising cost of living.
From the obvious effects on everyone’s wallets to the unseen toll on consumer health and well-being, Toluna’s Global Consumer Barometer captures it all. In the latest wave of our quarterly study, we surveyed nearly 16,000 consumers in 19 global markets, including over 1000 Australians. Here’s what we found.
The state of consumer sentiment
Despite the difficult economic circumstances for people across the world, 43 per cent of global consumers tell us that they’re very optimistic about the future. However, when we look closer, this proportion is buttressed by respondents in the Americas (61 per cent). When we look more specifically at Australian respondents, just 34 per cent express the same outlook.
Ultimately, this pessimism feels closely linked to personal finances; 35 per cent of Aussies tell us they’re very concerned about personal finances in light of the economic climate, and just 24 per cent expect improvement in the next three months – as opposed to 36 per cent who expect to be worse off.
While this outlook isn’t unique to Australians, it does have a significant impact on consumer behaviour –and brands need to pay attention.
The impact of the rising cost of living
Nearly seven in 10 Aussies (68 per cent) agree that the energy crisis and rising cost of living are impacting their spending plans, and this is manifesting in many ways. Sixty per cent say they are putting off big life expenditures until the economic climate is more stable, and many others are making changes to their spending habits in the meantime.
When we asked consumers how they expected their spending would change over the next three months, a theme bubbled to the top: leisure and discretionary expenditures will be an area that people will look to cut back. Over the next three months, Aussies expect to spend less on takeout (41 per cent), less on alcohol at out-of-home establishments like pubs or restaurants (35 per cent), and less on electronic goods (33 per cent).
Part of those cutbacks can be attributed to increases in other areas; nearly half (48 per cent) of Australian respondents told us they expect to spend more on groceries in the next three months. To keep grocery expenditures from ballooning too much, Aussies said they would reduce unnecessary purchases (50 per cent), switch to cheaper brands (36 per cent), and visit more stores in search of value (25 per cent).
The impact on consumer health and well-being
The cost-of-living crisis isn’t just impacting our wallets; it’s impacting our health and well-being, too. Fifty-two per cent of Aussie respondents say that the rising cost of living is impacting their health and well-being, a number that is slightly above global consumers (50 per cent) on the whole.
Due to the current financial climate, nearly four in 10 Aussies (38 per cent) say they’re feeling more stressed. Others are eating less healthily, buying fewer items to support their health, or are less health conscious at the moment due to other priorities.
In spite of this, one-third of Australian respondents say they are focusing more on their health and well-being. What can brands do to support these consumers? For starters, they can do a better job informing consumers about their products; 63 per cent of Aussies say that brands should provide better information on the health and well-being implications of their products.
The role of brand values
Even though consumers are highly sensitive to price, that doesn’t mean they’ve totally dismissed the importance of brand values. Fifty per cent of Australian respondents told us they go out of their way to engage with brands that align with their values, and 52 per cent said they would avoid a brand that didn’t. It’s not all talk, either; over four in 10 Aussies told us they’ve already stopped using a brand because of its negative social or environmental activities.
Overall, two-thirds of Australians (67 per cent) feel satisfied when they make socially or environmentally responsible choices, so there’s an opportunity for brands to tap into that spirit. One way they can do that is by better educating consumers on brand values and how they’re positively contributing to social or environmental causes. To that effect, 55 per cent of Australians said they would like to make more decisions based on environmental and social factors, but they simply don’t have enough information.
To learn more about shifting consumer sentiments and behaviours amidst the economic crisis, download your copy of Wave 23 of the Toluna Global Consumer Barometer.
