Consumer opinion captured through the Catalyst program, which tracks social and environmental concerns via Cint’s consumer network for digital market research, has found that while anxiety over Covid is falling, it is being replaced by mounting concern around the cost of living.
Indeed, with inflation hitting a 30-year high, now at 7% in countries such as the UK, the cost of living crisis has risen steadily in recent months to become the most pressing challenge across the US, UK and Australia, according to our study.
Certainly it is becoming increasingly important for policymakers to turn their attention towards supporting those struggling with rising costs of living, with societies also at risk of exacerbating the myriad of mental health challenges which have become increasingly acute during the pandemic.
Perhaps surprisingly, in terms of the growing cost of living, Baby Boomers were found to be the most concerned amongst the three major markets surveyed. Findings such as this illustrate the complexity of consumer attitudes and behaviors – which can differ significantly when viewed through lenses such as geography, gender, income and education level.
What’s more, women were also significantly more likely than men in all three markets to cite cost-of-living as an issue requiring immediate attention, as were those with children.
All this further emphasizes the importance of rapid market research to better understand today’s rapidly evolving marketplaces.
Given recent elections in France – now looming in Australia – it is going to be very interesting to see how political parties propose to help address the rising costs of living.
As consumer attitudes and behaviors continue to shift, insights such as these are helping brands to understand their audiences better.
Cint, which is trusted by over 3,000 insight driven companies around the world, is providing respondents for Catalyst, an open-source research program investigating consumer concerns about social and environmental issues. The program is building a body of knowledge to fuel conversation, action and behavior change by supporting businesses with insights that fuel their own programs of action.
Read the full article produced by the Catalyst program here.
