Fewer Americans see higher prices, with one big exception

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 about high prices: Inflation, or perhaps we should say persistently high cost of living, is an issue for our wallets and will be a big factor in the election.

What we found: Compared to earlier this year, most people are still reporting paying higher prices for most goods, but those numbers have slipped a bit over the course of 2024 as prices have in many cases found a new, stable-but-higher point. The one exception is gas, which more people reported paying higher prices for. GasBuddy shows a pretty solid jump since the beginning of the year, though down from highs in April.

Further signs people are fed up with high prices

Why we asked: Prices keep staying up, and portions keep going down…

What we found: Compared to a year ago, fewer people (54%, down from 63%) say they are willing to continue buying from companies that raise their prices “if they feel valued as a customer,” more people (76% vs 64%) say that “businesses are keeping the prices of their goods and services high for customers, even though supply chain issues have been resolved,” and even more people are reporting that shrinkflation makes them feel taken advantage of (85%, up from 79%). Taken together, that is a lot of agreement that people are losing patience with the state of their bills.

More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:

 Women have less desire to advance their careers. Why?

The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?