Americans' private label purchases are rising amid the gas price crunch
The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.
Why we asked: We know gas prices are indeed rising, and last wave we saw how they’re impacting gas-buying behavior. But what about all our other purchases and overall outlook?
What we found: First, it says a lot about economic uncertainty that for the last year, nearly two-thirds (61%) of Americans think we’re headed for a recession in the next 12 months. It doesn’t help that economists have been saying that out loud, including early last year when we first asked this, and are asking if we’re headed for recession again recently. While there’s a partisan split on that, it’s telling that half of Republicans (vs. three in four Democrats) think we’re headed for a downturn this year. Higher-income Americans also over-index on recession fears.
This dovetails with the scant 22% who say the economic news they see is positive. Again, a party split, but only 28% of Republicans see positive economic news (vs. 18% of Democrats). This is borne out in the Care-o-Meter, where if you filter the interactive version on economic news you’ll see it often in Don’t Know/Do Care.
Two items in this battery really jumped from when we last asked it in August. One, the number of people who said gas prices in their area are falling cratered to just 15% from 38% last summer. And correspondingly, more (69%) now report buying additional private label products, now seven in ten, up from 59% in August.
As (or if) the war in Iran continues, we’ll keep an eye on these numbers, but the futurist in me sees some negative plausible outcomes for the consumer economy. Here are some points to recap:
- 61% of Americans think we’re headed for a recession in the next 12 months
- A scant 22% say the economic news they see is positive: 28% of Republicans vs. 18% of Democrats
- Just 15% think gas prices are falling in their area
- 69% now report buying additional private label products, up from 59% in August
More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:
Americans think they need to keep up with AI, but AI needs to slow down
Americans think AI is already having a profound effect on society
Most women think phones have gotten too big
Couples who collect mostly collect different things
The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?
