Pinched purses have caused 37% of U.S. consumers to decrease their spending. But 36% say their spending has remained the same and 27% report an increase, according to Jungle Scout’s Q3 Consumer Trends Report, released on Tuesday.
Overall, 84% of shoppers say inflation has affected their spending -- a 9% increase over Q2. And nearly 90% have observed higher product prices in their day-to-day living.
Worse, 52% of consumers say their household income is unstable -- a 36% hike from Q2. And 42% rely on financial assistance/unemployment benefits, up from 34% in Q2.
Almost all product categories have taken a hit. People are buying less:
At the same time, 32% have decreased their online spending, while 33% have increased it and 35% say it remains the same.
Contrary to some other reports, consumers are starting their holiday shopping earlier this year: only13% plan to wait until Thanksgiving or later -- down from 27% in 2021.
Two of the most popular ways of cutting back are to spend less per person on gifts (54%) and buying discounted items (47%).
Another 38% plan to reduce the number of people they’re gifting, and 36% are spending less on holiday decorating. And 34% are cutting back on holiday activities/travel, while 25% are buying used/thrift store gifts and 21% are regifting items.
In addition, consumers are:
One area that has shown an uptick is the number of consumers likely to buy via social media, with Tik Tok usage for this purpose from 11% in Q2 to 22% in Q3.
Jungle Scout surveyed 1,025 U.S. consumers between August 5 and August 8, 2022.