With Anxiety peaking and Confidence in key measures at record lows – the latest data from Forethought’s Mind and Mood report leads us to question whether this may translate into a downturn in consumer spending.

With NSW eclipsing 1000 daily new COVID cases and Victoria late last week given grim news of a once again extended roadmap out of lockdown, in August we saw now almost 1 in 2 Australians believing their life to be worse than this time last year.

August findings from the Forethought Normality index, reveal our sense of normality is down to an equal low for 2021 (67%) with a decline observed across all states. The key drivers of this downward shift were ‘Motivation to work towards your goals/obligations’ and ‘Ability to make future plans’.

Extended lockdowns across multiple states in August have left consumers feeling unmotivated and we question whether this could potentially lead towards relative consumption dormancy. Metrics such as ‘Confidence in the economy’, ‘Feeling comfortable out in public’ and, as mentioned ‘Motivation to work towards your goals/obligations’ have all registered all time low scores. Despite the Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announcing last week surprise economic growth figures in the June quarter[1], Forethought’s latest Mind & Mood data suggests further growth may slow if these trends continue.

Brands will be wary of the nation’s emotional state translating into a lack of spending also with Anxiety and Anger continuing to increase. Positive measures such as Happiness and Love reached their lowest point, while the collective negative emotional measures reached their lowest levels since pre-COVID.

Forethought GM Rachel Edwardes said of the latest findings: ‘Closing in on rock bottom is a thought that comes to mind when interpreting these latest figures. The emotional and behavioural shifts we have observed suggest Australians’ are beginning to effectively hide under the pillows when it comes to operating out in the world, and this may translate into challenging news for brands and the economy.’

Trust in State Government remained relatively stable in August, however Victoria still holds the lowest level of Trust across all states in this area. Victoria also retains the most negative emotional profile, however New South Wales is beginning to trend similarly downwards.

To find out more, download the full report above.

[1] https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/recession-dodged-as-economy-grows-surprise-0-7pc-20210901-p58nq9 https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/recession-dodged-as-economy-grows-surprise-0-7pc-20210901-p58nq9

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

Forethought has been tracking Australian’s sense of Normality since 27 March 2020 when our world was first shocked by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been taking a regular pulse of national mind and mood and have now surveyed nearly 20,000 Australians.

ABOUT FORETHOUGHT

Forethought is a leading customer and marketing analytics and strategy advisory firm.

Forethought, with the largest marketing science team in Australia, partners 80 clients in Australia to drive customer and market share growth via providing the evidence and CMO advisory support focused on customer acquisition and retention strategy and market share growth. In North America, Forethought partners with the fastest growing airline, JetBlue as well as several category leading brands.