Important Financial Trends and Expectations Coming Into Focus

Uncovering each generation’s consumer trends and financial attitudes

Marketers, sales professionals, executives, and brand leaders are facing an unprecedented, challenging situation: how to understand and adapt to consumers amidst store closings, social distancing, and quarantine measures.

To attract and retain each generation of customers and drive growth during these uncertain times, leaders first need to know how consumers are thinking about money, spending, saving, and their financial attitudes toward the future. CGK’s 2020 study, Unexpected Consumer Insights and Generational Attitudes in this Unprecedented Time, fills in the missing data gaps so leaders can take fast, data-driven action.

The study uncovered many insights. In particular, three of them have broad implications across a wide array of businesses, brands, products, services, and industries. We wanted to know:

• What new and different spending habits have each generation established during this pandemic?
• What gender and generational differences emerge in what consumers want to first spend their money on after social distancing restrictions are lifted?
• What does each generation think will be the most positive thing to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Below are a few of the surprising findings from the study:

• 47% of all Americans will put more emphasis on saving money after the pandemic
• 68% of Baby Boomers believe the U.S. will need at least two years to recover from the pandemic
• 71% of all Americans agree that they’ll try to support local businesses more in the future
• 73% of all Americans plan to first spend their money dining in at restaurants when restrictions are lifted