Consumers Happy, But Not Spendthrifts: Roper
Consumers are mostly happy and feel in control of their lives, but they’re still ambivalent about buying things.
That’s the top line from research firm Roper’s http://www.roper.com annual survey that gauges the overall mood of U.S. consumers.
Roper surveyed 1,005 adult consumers in early December for its annual report, Consumer Mood Update, and found that 46% of consumers are “happy,” and 43% are “satisfied” with the overall quality of their lives. Fully 61% said they have “a great deal” of control over their lives, and 26% reported “a fair amount” of control.
But that’s not translating to robust spending. Roper found that 54% of consumers are ambivalent about making purchases in the current political and business climate. Only 14% said it’s a good time to buy; 31% said it’s a good time to wait. (Seventy-eight percent also said Americans are too materialistic.)
U.S. brands aren’t held in the same regard as they were last year, either. Only 39% of respondents said America produces the world’s best brands, down from 46% last year. And 48% said America is “falling behind” in innovation, up from 44% who thought so last year.
The survey also asked consumers about cause-related purchases. Only 20% said they always try to buy goods from companies that support causes the respondent supports. (Thirty percent sometimes buy based on cause tie-ins, and 14% never do.) Only 12% believe that corporate donation claims are completely credible, and 17% don’t believe marketers’ claims of non-profit donations at all.
When asked about the environment, 69% of respondents agreed that “individual Americans are responsible for protecting the environment,” but only 37% said they “often buy green products even if they cost more.”
Roper sees an opportunity for marketers to be good corporate citizens on two levels: in their business dealings, and with their people. The firm suggests marketers “get employees involved at every level,” and consider green marketing “as good a place as any to start.”
“People who often buy green products are more likely than average to find companies’ charitable claims credible and to make an effort to buy products from those who support causes they care about,” Roper stated in its report.
Still, Roper warns that green marketing and, more broadly, cause marketing aren’t the only solutions: “People see problems in the world that charity alone cannot solve, but which can be addressed by products or services,” the report concluded.
Meanwhile, consumers’ biggest worries seem less troublesome this year. Only 54% of consumers worry about identity theft now, down from 83% last year. Forty percent worry about terrorist attacks, down from 62%; and 35% worry about natural disasters, down from 63% last year.
Marketers should address consumers’ concerns about identity theft, Roper advises, by “offering a secure shopping and financial environment, both online and off.”
Roper’s survey was conducted by phone on Dec. 1-3. It’s part of Roper’s ongoing series of Roper Reports on consumer attitudes towards business and government.
