Survey: Personal finance was top consumer concern in 2023

More than a third of Americans cited personal finances as their primary worry last year, despite resilient consumer spending.

That’s according to the new Numerator Visions ‘24 report, which detailed consumer attitudes about spending in 2023 while forecasting this year. From November 2022 to November 2023, personal finances ranked as the top concern for households, staying at roughly 40% for the year-long period. World events, family/friends, work/school all stayed at or below the 20% mark during the period.

Low-income households, however, saw a six percentage point increase in financial worry year-over-year in 2023. Numerator says that the cancellation of emergency SNAP allotments at the start of the year, valued at nearly $45 billion worth of spending, had an impact, especially when coupled with the resumption of student loan repayments that were frozen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As consumers continued to watch their spending, private label brands saw another strong year in 2023, driven by all income brackets. Notable contributors to the growth in private label unit share include Walmart’s Great Value (+1.3B units versus last year), Aldi’s brands (+188M), Costco’s Kirkland Signature (+140M), Wakefern Food Corp.’s Bowl & Basket (+130M), and Trader Joe’s products (+129M).

In 2024, technological innovation is continuing to impact how people shop and consume. Over half (56%) of the U.S. population uses mobile payments when shopping, such as Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. Mobile payments and downloadable content witnessed the most significant growth, increasing by 10 and six percentage points respectively year-over-year, respectively. Click & Collect (+4pp, 48%) and Buy Now, Pay Later (+4pp, 26%) also made significant gains.

Also, consumers are most likely to consider AI shopping technologies such as price comparison tools (58% of consumers), clothing size recommendations based on weight and height measurements (35%), and virtual try-ons showing what consumers look like with the product on (31%). 

A key consumer insight of 2023 was the continued focus on health and wellness. Numerator found that 34% of consumers prioritize their physical well-being, a double-digit increase from the preceding year’s 21% of survey respondents. Nearly three-in-10 (28%) of respondents said they will consider using or use more of nutrition apps in 2024, while 23% said they will consider using or use more of mental health apps this year. Both figures are an 11 point increase from the previous survey.

The full Numerator report can be found here.