IPSOS DATA DROPS:
Boycotts in America
March 2025
Key Takeaways:
Americans say economic uncertainty is influencing how they budget and what they buy.
Many Americans say they’re cutting their spending. This shows up in discretionary spending, but also in a reluctance to make big purchases or even essential spending.
Households earning under $100k are most likely to be cutting back, and to say things are too uncertain to make a budget at all.
Inflation, gas prices, and interest rates are the top economic issues
When asked to rank the economic issues that matter most to them, Americans put the issues that impact their personal day-to-day finances — like interest rates and gas prices — well ahead of the indicators that economists monitor, like GDP and unemployment rates.
But inflation remains the issue that’s most important to Americans, by a clear margin.
Agreement is consistent across income levels, except when it comes to the stock market: For Americans earning over $100k, it was the third-most important issue, while for Americans earning under $50k it ranked fifth.
2
Against the backdrop of economic uncertainty, lower-earning Americans are more likely to say they’ve cancelled their streaming subscriptions or skipped a vacation, and a majority still say they’ve been spending more on cooking at home.
But the cutbacks aren’t limited to small purchases: 30% say they’ve postponed a medical treatment, and one in five Americans say they or someone in their household has been unable to afford rent or mortgage payments.
Americans are looking for opportunities to cut costs
3
Americans say economic uncertainty makes it hard to budget
1
Most Americans say today’s economy and their expectations for tomorrow influence their spending.
Right now, that picture is unpredictable. 65% intend to set a budget for 2026, but those earning $50-100k are most likely to say that they feel too uncertain about the economy to make a budget.
Those who do budget find that keeping it up is easier said than done: three in four (72%) Americans say they set a monthly budget, but just one in four says they have a budget they can stick to.
What's Next
Americans have varying attitudes on wealth and the economy, but a majority across demographics say they want to budget, even if life makes it difficult. That points to opportunities for financial education, for tools that help Americans save, and for products that are priced to align with their needs.
After five years, Americans still say inflation is the economic issue that matters most to them. Brands and retailers will need to monitor that sentiment and take caution when passing costs along to consumers.
Americans are willing to postpone big-ticket items, medical treatments and rent: In the zero-sum economy, no category is recession-proof. But a record-breaking day of Black Friday online sales shows that Americans still value a good deal — especially in an inflationary and unpredictable economic climate.
TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT: Kevin Hung SVP, Senior Client Officer Co-Lead USA FS Sector Practice
kevin.hung@ipsos.com
Or visit the Ipsos Consumer Tracker archive and the Ipsos Top Topics page.
Your three-minute briefing on what business leaders need to know about today.
IPSOS DATA DROPS:
Boycotts in America
March 2025
IPSOS DATA DROPs
Economic uncertainty is weighing on Americans’ minds and budgets
December 2025
Check out our other DATA DROPS for more compelling data & insights
Source: Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded November 18 – November 19, 2025 among 1,090 U.S. adults.
Source: Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded November 18 – November 19, 2025 among 1,090 U.S. adults.
Source: Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded October 7 – October 8, 2025 among 1,093 U.S. adults.
DOWNLOAD THE
PPT CHARTS
Want this compelling data in a deck to go?
Jonathan Stinnett SVP, Senior Client Officer Co-Lead USA FS Sector Practice
jonathan.stinnett@ipsos.com
When it comes to building wealth, there are marked generational divides.
When it comes to how to build wealth in uncertain times, the generational divides are starker still. Americans over 55 are twice as likely as those under 34 to say that investing or owning a home is one of the best ways to build wealth. Younger generations are least confident about the value of a college degree.
Practically zero Americans 55+ think cryptocurrency or sports betting are good ways to build wealth — but some younger people do.
Source: Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded October 22 – October 23, 2025 among 1,085 U.S. adults.
Different generations have different views on the best ways to build wealth
4
Q: Please rank the following economic indicators in terms of their importance to you, personally, when thinking about their impact on your own finances. The item you rank 1 is most important to you and 7 is what is least important. - Mean Summary