Attitude Assessment

Trying to get inside the heads of consumers is a 24/7 task for retailers. What’s driving their purchasing decisions today? Are they feeling pessimistic, optimistic – or just plain overwhelmed? The L.E.K. Consulting Consumer Sentiment Survey (CSS) identified some shifts in consumer attitudes and spending behaviors that could have ramifications for retailers.

Among them is an uptick in affluent consumer spending. The study found that affluent consumers are bullish on the economic recovery, and more than a third (39 percent) believe their spending was either not impacted materially by the recession or has already returned to pre-recession spending levels. Affluent consumers are the only demographic spending more today than before the recession, and is the only group planning more purchases (an increase of 3.5 percent) in the near future.

Still, a majority of affluent shoppers believe their financial condition will not recover for another six to 24 months, and they say they’re still watching their purse strings more closely than they were prior to the recession.

The general population, by contrast, is significantly more cautious. Only 12 percent expect their personal finances to improve by this fall, and nearly two-thirds (65 percent) don’t anticipate that their finances will rebound significantly for another 12 to 24 months. In addition, the general population has reduced its spending by more than 4 percent since the onset of the recession.

Some of the other findings uncovered by the research: 24 percent of respondents said their online shopping increases every year, with free shipping cited as the top incentive for buying online. Twelve percent plan to purchase based on product recommendations from friends on social networks, and 26 percent were more inclined to respond to promotions e-mailed directly from a retailer rather than one forwarded by a friend or relative.