WHAT THE DATA SAY: Consumers support AI for healthcare and education – but not journalism, politics and law

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 June 9-11):

WEEKLY WORRIES ABOUT ECONOMY UP AGAIN

Today, 87% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – up 2 points from last week and higher than December’s 82% rate.

• 83% worry about a potential U.S. recession (up 3 points)
• 73% about affording living expenses (up 6 points)
• 77% about political divisiveness (up 3 points)
• 84% about U.S. crime rates (up 3 points)
• 68% about the War on Ukraine (up 2 points)
• 56% about a new COVID-19 variant (up 2 points)
• 48% about losing their jobs (up 4 points)

AI HUMAN VERSUS MACHINE

While many people are focusing on AI as a technology, the real opportunity is about people, according to Stagwell’s National Research Group’s new “The AI-Powered Human” report. The research identifies five key areas of daily life in which consumers see the most benefit from the combination of human + machine:

• AI as a personal admin – to aid with daily productivity, travel, shopping, automotive and kids.
• Building productivity at work.
• Improving creativity and self-expression – especially for social media, art and music.
• Connecting with others – particularly for community engagement and dating.
• Wellbeing and personal development – especially in healthcare and education.
• Yet consumers are skeptical about the application of AI in areas of their lives driven by emotion and human connection – especially journalism, politics and the legal industry.

JOB HUNTING A PAIN FOR COLLEGE GRADS

Job hunting is becoming increasingly unpleasant and taking longer, according to our Harris Poll survey with TIME.

• Job hunting is most problematic today for people with a college degree: 51% of job seekers with bachelor’s degrees who had at least one interview completed the interview process without receiving an offer. That compares with 35% with a high school diploma.
• Those with a bachelor’s degree (41%) also are more likely than those with a high school diploma (33%) to be asked to complete a job skills assessment; to be asked to do a one-way interview (37% for college grads versus 23% for those with a high school diploma) in which they record themselves answering pre-set questions; and to report inconsistencies (38% for college grads versus 16% for those with a high school diploma) between the job requirements and salary range listed in the posting versus what they were told later on in the interview process.

CAPITALISM QUESTIONED

Is capitalism still working? That’s the question The Harris Poll and Forbes asked in a new survey on “the State of American Capitalism.” Among the insights:

• 46% of Americans believe that capitalism is headed in the wrong direction.
• 62% say it particularly isn’t working for younger generations as it did for older ones.
• 62% agree that capitalism isn’t allowing Americans to meet their basic needs – jumping to 66% among Gen Z, 65% among women and 65% among people of color.
• That said, 70% say that, while capitalism isn’t perfect, it’s still the best option.
• 58% feel capitalism leads to innovation and creativity rather than stagnation.
• 57% say they are willing to pay more for goods and services to guarantee living wages for workers.
• See also: Madison Avenue Takes on Capitalism

EMPLOYER BRAND KEY TO A STRONG REPUTATION

A company’s employer brand – the way its culture and employee experience is perceived – has a major impact on its reputation, according to this year’s Axios Harris Poll 100 rankings.

• Consumers increasingly care about the internal workings of a company and favor those that are ethical, exhibit good citizenship and have a strong company culture.
• Patagonia, Costco, John Deere, USAA, Samsung, Honda, Chick-fil-A, Trader Joe’s, Apple and Microsoft have the best employee cultures today.
• 79% of Americans say that companies will need to rebrand and evolve to stay relevant in the coming years.
• 75% also say this should be rebranding the company’s ethics and values.
• When asked what could be done to build an employee brand, paying employees a living wage (50%) is far ahead of reward programs and employee discounts.

ICYMI

In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• Mark Penn: Political Season Is in Full Swing. Brands Beware.
• Gen Xers and older millennials really just want to go back in time to before the internet existed
• 90% of 2023 graduates think college is really worth it. Here’s why they’re right–and politicians and pundits are wrong
• More than Two-Thirds of Americans are Concerned About Germs in Indoor Spaces