focuses specifically on summer, capturing more than 1,000 U.S. adult consumers’ sentiment on topics including inflation, spending, shopping preferences , direct-to-consumer, paid memberships and data collection. The findings underscore the ongoing pressure felt by consumers who seek to find balance as they restrict budgets from cutting spending on select essentials to reevaluating the price of experiences.
“Consumers are tightening their belts another notch as they hunt for discounts, and even some essentials are being impacted,” said Duleep Rodrigo, U.S. consumer and retail sector leader at KPMG. “We have already seen a few retailers lower prices, as they look to maintain the balance between their margins and demand.
Moreover, results from the survey found that the expected online apparel spending closely matches overall spending projections with 31 percent of respondents saying they plan to spend less online this summer and 19 percent planning to spend more. Consumers are split when it comes to intent to shop online directly from a brand’s website with 51 percent reporting that they “frequently” do so and 49 percent reporting that they “rarely” do so.
Sentiments around paid memberships and subscriptions varied across generations. Millennials said they were most likely to use a paid service for convenience and improved quality or services, while cost savings came out as the top benefit for both Gen X and Baby Boomer consumers. Gen Z consumers said they are most attracted to the improved quality when considering paying for memberships or subscriptions.
Overall, consumers across all generations showed a similar level of concern about companies collecting personal data, though over half said they are “willing to trade personal data for financial incentives.” Notably, the authors of the report surprisingly found that Gen Z consumers are the “least aware that companies gather data about their online activity to target them with personalized offerings” .