McKinsey & Co. has reported that, in a May survey about how tariffs are shaping public concerns and behaviors, consumer sentiment is slipping, with inflation remaining the top concern but with tariffs rising to second place.
With that, the consultancy noted, consumers may explore various personal financial behaviors to protect their bank accounts.
In the survey, rising prices/inflation worried 43% of consumers most, followed by tariff policies at 29% and the ability to make ends meet at 22%. Consumers aren’t necessarily looking ahead to changing behavior, as 32% of survey respondents said they had already made spending adjustments, with 31% saying they planned to do so soon. Only 22% said they were not adjusting their spending behavior. As for demographics, Millennials were most likely to say they had changed behaviors and GenZers were most likely to say they would soon.
As for ways to change behavior, the number one method cited was to cut back on non-essential spending, for 54%, a solution, particularly popular with Baby Boomers, purchasing fewer items, at 48%, switching to lower-priced products, at 43%, delaying purchases, at 40%, buying items secondhand, at 26%, a more important choice to GenZers, and purchasing from different stores/websites, at 26%, the top choice for Millennials.
