The close-in economy seems to be even more important when times are tough

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded on Ipsos' Omnibus platform, 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 what people care about in the economy: Economic indicators are flashing red all over the place. Yet “the economy” still seems to be humming along, powered (almost entirely) by AI data center investment.

What we found: We’ve seen again and again, no matter how we approach the question, that what people care about in the economy is what impacts them most directly. 

Gas prices and inflation are consistently the things we care about most. Interest rates have now moved up into the top three compared to a year ago likely reflecting the recent rate increase, which was the first since 2023 and which wound up high in Know/Care in the Care-o-Meter. Related, it was not surprising then that the news about a massive sell-off in the bond market wound up in Don’t Know in the Care-o-Meter because people don’t follow the markets as closely. Nor is it surprising that they cared once they found out about it, because although it doesn’t impact people as immediately, we know it’s not a great sign for the economy and react accordingly. 

See more analysis in our write-up of the zero-sum human economy and what you can do about it in our latest Insights to Activate report, “Winning the Wallet War.”

More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:

We want humans in the loop with AI for critical thinking, empathy and ethics

More Americans think the world is changing too fast

Workers expect both carrots and sticks in their AI futures

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