2015 Consumer Attitudes - New Year, Old Spending Habits

It’s a new year, but consumers’ attitudes toward spending and saving haven’t changed much. In fact, the latest U.S. Consumer Sentiment Survey from McKinsey finds that despite a steadily improving economy, Americans’ penny-pinching ways have gotten even worse in the past few years.

McKinsey’s September 2012 consumer survey found that most Americans were optimistic about their futures and spending more freely. But since then, their outlook has “either plateaued or gotten worse,” the study says. Nearly four in 10 consumers surveyed are fearful of losing their jobs, and a similar amount say they live paycheck to paycheck — an increase from 31 percent in 2012.

2015 Consumer Attitudes - New Year, Old Spending Habits