Kearney Consumer Institute Launches First Consumer Stress Index: Analyzes Factors Beyond Finances for Nuanced View into Stressors Driving Consumer Choices

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Jan 24, 2024, 09:05 ET

70% of respondents did not list finances as primary stressor.
Whether a consumer reports living paycheck-to-paycheck vs. within their means is a bigger indicator of stress than income alone.
Consumers' optionality and (self-reported) ability to respond to a critical stress trigger has great impact on stress level.
Globally, consumers communicate stress around geopolitics and government.

CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kearney Consumer Institute (KCI), an internal think tank of global strategy and management consultancy Kearney, today released its inaugural Consumer Stress Index. The new Index provides a fresh lens through which to view consumer sentiment, through a unique combination of macroeconomic data—on topics ranging from finances to global conflict to healthcare—and consumer input. In doing so, the Kearney Consumer Stress Index seeks to better understand consumer needs and behaviors, identifying new patterns and spend implications.

Figure: While the consumer wallet was the most common stressor, it was far from unanimous

"In the past few years, consumers have repeatedly been labeled 'unpredictable,' particularly as it relates to the disconnect between consumer sentiment data and actual spending patterns," notes KCI lead Katie Thomas, who led the study. "In responding to surveys, consumers are prone to say one thing and then act very differently. In developing the Consumer Stress Index, the Kearney Consumer Institute set out to get a broader and more nuanced look at stress as a factor in consumer behavior."

The Consumer Stress Index extends beyond the wallet, surveying 24,000 consumers in 12 countries about how stressed they feel with respect to five pillars:

Consumer wallet and finances
Health and education
Geopolitics and government
Food and the environment
Innovation and technology

"The Index establishes a fresh way to look at consumer sentiment by combining this consumer input with a carefully curated blend of macroeconomic data," notes Thomas. It augments traditional analyses with two key measures: 1) consumer flexibility—consumers' optionality, agency, and ability to respond to critical stress triggers, and 2) consumer sensitivity—consumers' top-of-mindness on macroeconomic factors that are currently weighing on their psyche.

"On a practical level, the Index allows us to move past the what, the kind of data point analysis that measures responses to one question, to the so what that reveals how consumers navigate their daily lives, balancing stressors and making trade-offs, and how that, in turn, helps understand their buying behaviors," said Thomas. "There are plenty of studies that show us what economists think about consumers, but our Index tells us what consumers think about economics, as well as the other macro factors causing stress in their daily lives."

The initial baseline report surfaced some interesting conclusions. For example, while stressors associated with the "consumer wallet" pillar were most frequently cited, 70 percent of respondents did not list that as their primary concern.

"This is our inaugural study," Thomas notes, "but as our data bank grows over time, we believe the idea of measuring how consumers react to stress—combined with macroeconomic data—will become an invaluable tool in helping all interested in consumers to adopt 'consumer-first' thinking in their own businesses."

Read the full report by clicking this link.

For more information, to schedule an interview with Katie Thomas, or to receive a copy of the study, please contact:

MKPR/Meir Kahtan
+1 917-864-0800
[email protected]

About Kearney
Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm. For nearly 100 years, we have been the trusted advisor to C-suites, government bodies, and nonprofit organizations. Our people make us who we are. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we help our clients break through.

About the Kearney Consumer Institute
The Kearney Consumer Institute (KCI) evaluates today's business challenges and opportunities through the eyes and experiences of consumers, advocating a consumer-first perspective. By leveraging consumer behavior data and insights, the KCI helps generate conversation, and ultimately action, around how to address consumer needs with meaningful benefits.

Using a consumer-first lens the KCI looks at today's consumer revolution not by thinking about consumers, but by thinking like consumers. Our consumer-centric approach includes simple, precise, plain-language conversations on topics like trends, consumer communities, convenience, loyalty, service, fair pricing, and product development and technologies.

SOURCE Kearney