For Better or Worse: How North American Consumer Spending is Evolving

Around the world, consumers are growing increasingly optimistic about their financial wellbeing, particularly in developing markets throughout the Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East and Latin America. Globally, 58% of global consumers feel they are better off financially than they were five years ago, with nearly a half of consumers in North America (46%) feeling positive about their current situation. However, a sizeable proportion of consumers feel that they are in survival mode, with sentiment differing considerably by region and country.

Consumers’ perceptions of their personal financial situations play a role in influencing their purchasing behavior. Due to changing aspirations or priorities, or reactively, due to factors such as inflation, consumers are proactively adapting their spending behaviors on fixed and discretionary expenses. In our recent webinar on this topic, we shared that the largest proportion of consumers in North America region (33%) indicate that the amount they spend on groceries has increased over the past five years.

While consumers are often cost-conscious and look for bargains, they are willing to pay a premium for certain categories. North American consumers in are willing to pay a premium for meat/seafood (30%).

For more insights, download our Changing Consumer Prosperity report. The following infographic is also available for a global perspective, as well as for the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa regions.