WHAT THE DATA SAY: 75% of Americans making budget cuts – yet protecting sports spending

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking (fielded Apr. 21-23):

WORRIES ABOUT ECONOMY GROW AGAIN

Today, 87% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – up 3 points from last week and higher than December’s 82% rate.

• 81% worry about U.S. crime rates (up 2 points from last week)
• 80% about a potential U.S. recession (up 1 point)
• 74% about political divisiveness (up 5 points)
• 70% about affording my living expenses (up 2 points)
• 71% about the War on Ukraine (up 3 points)
• 55% about a new COVID-19 variant (up 1 point)
• 45% about losing their jobs (down 3 points)

WHERE ARE AMERICANS CUTTING BACK?

Is inflation moving sports fans from the stadium to the couch? A new survey from Stagwell’s National Research Group shows that 75% of Americans say they’ve had to cut household spending during the past six months due to inflation – a quarter cutting back “significantly” – yet sports seem to be somewhat insulated.

• Those in their late 20s and early 30s, as well as those with young children at home, are among the groups most likely to have been forced to make household cutbacks.
• Where are Americans cutting back? Top spending cuts include restaurant dining (41%), takeout (37%), travel (34%) and going to bars and clubs (27%). Much lower are cutbacks on tickets to live games (19%), sports merchandise (15%) and sports packages for TV or streaming services (12%).
• That said, 26% expect to watch more sports games at home during the next 12 months, compared with 10% who plan to watch fewer.
• 31% say that they plan to travel to fewer live sports games than they have in the past, while 18% expect to go to more of them.
• A worsening economic climate is making some fans more invested in sports: 81% of sports fans agree that “sports help bring people together in times of adversity.” 71% say that “no matter what’s going on in the world, sports help me feel better.”

RELYING ON LOTTERY TICKETS MORE THAN FINANCIAL PLANNING

We seem to rely on lottery tickets more than financial planning, according to our survey with Empower.

• 71% of Americans say they have purchased a lottery ticket, and 24% say they’ve spoken to a fortune teller.
• Yet only 33% have spoken with a financial planner.
• We also know as much about celebrities’ net worth as our family’s: 58% of Americans know their net worth, 37% understand their partner’s, 28% their family’s – and 28% know Elon Musk’s net worth.

MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM STRUGGLES WITH DEMAND

The vast majority (83%) of the nation’s behavioral health workforce believes that, without public policy changes, provider organizations won’t be able to meet the demand for mental health or substance use treatment and care in the U.S. The National Council for Wellbeing survey also warns of a potential exodus of behavioral health workers due to burnout.

• 65% report increased client caseload, and 72% reported increased client severity since the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 90% of behavioral health workers are concerned about the ability for those not currently receiving care to gain access to care.
• 87% are concerned about the ability to provide care in the event of another health crisis in the future.
• 93% said they have experienced burnout, and 62% say they are suffering from moderate or severe levels of burnout.
• 48% of behavioral health workers say the impacts of workforce shortages have caused them to consider other employment options.
• Adding to the problem: 68% of those who provide care to patients say the amount of time spent on administrative tasks takes away from directly supporting clients.

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