Saturday, November 09, 2024
Fintech Connect Leaderboard | FFNews

Breaking News

Akuna Wallet Unlocks the Digital Economy for African Creatives Magic Labs Unveils Newton, the First Chain Unification Network, Connecting Leading Wallet Solutions to the AggLayer Tencent Leverages Cutting-Edge Technology and Partnerships to Lead a New Era of FinTech Innovation Centralis Group Continues Its Planned Growth Strategy, Acquiring the Business of Admina Fund Services Ozean Partners With HELIX to Bring $100M of Private Credit On-Chain Ebury Expands Its Presence in International Football With C.D. Leganés Sponsorship Isle of Man Launches Sustainable Finance Roadmap to Establish Leading Position in Green Finance Higlobe Partners with Bitso Business to Provide Freelancers  And Small Businesses with New Crypto Payment and  Investment Options Through the Bitso Platform TD Integrates With TouchBistro to Provide Payment Solution to Canadian Restaurant Owners Caruso and Fidel API Renew Partnership to Enhance Consumer Experience With Innovative Card-Linked Offers Wealth Management Firms Expected to More Than Double AI Budgets: Wipro Survey Kemba Credit Union Launches Alkami’s Digital Banking Platform for Retail and Business Members Groov Secures £1.5m to Pioneer Next-gen Embedded Lending Solution to Solve the $1.2trn Funding Gap in the Global SME Sector Nine in Ten Businesses Think Sustainability Will Impact Their Future Operations, but Many Don’t Yet Have Targets to Aim For British Business Bank Appoints Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner for New British Growth Partnership

Consumer Optimism Hits Two-Year High, Though Generational Divides Emerge

A new report from global information and insights company, TransUnion, shows that consumers are more optimistic about the likely state of their finances over the next 12 months than at any point over the past two and a half years.

The latest survey, released as part of TransUnion’s Q2 2024 Consumer Pulse report, finds that 43% of consumers are optimistic about their household finances in the next 12 months. This shows a continued rebound in confidence and is the highest level of optimism TransUnion has recorded since Q4 2021 (48%).

James Robinson, managing director of consumer interactive at TransUnion in the UK, said: “As inflation hits the Bank of England’s target of 2% for the first time in almost three years, there are signs of hope among consumers that the coming year will bring an easing of financial pressures. But the cost-of-living stresses that built up in recent years won’t be disappearing right away and that legacy will affect some households more severely than others, meaning we’re seeing a complex, divided picture of recovery.”

Consumer optimism is not being felt equally across the board, with a steep generational divide both in terms of actual financial health and consumer sentiment. Bucking the overall trend, 73% of Gen X were not optimistic about their household finances in the next 12 months.

This divide might be explained by reported differences in income growth; 37% of Millennials said their household incomes were keeping up with the rate of inflation, the highest of any generation – this is opposed to only 15% of Gen X, the lowest of any generation.

These attitudes reflect ONS figures suggesting any real-terms income gains are marginal. With wage growth slightly above current inflation levels at 2.3% year-over-year (YoY) as of April 2024,[i] financial stresses persist in the present for many, even considering growing optimism.

Meanwhile, housing (mortgage and rent costs) ranked amongst the top concerns affecting consumer household finances in the next six months for all generations except Baby Boomers. In fact, 68% of Gen Z ranked housing costs in their top three financial concerns, along with a majority of Millennials and Gen X.

The impact of rental costs looks to be landing squarely on low earners, who are significantly more likely to be tenants[ii]. As such, it‘s important not to overlook signs of financial vulnerability, even as the macro picture suggests hope for the future.

Against this backdrop, optimism is yet to translate to spending for many consumers. Nearly half (47%) of respondents plan to decrease spending on discretionary items like dining out, travel, entertainment, while more than a third won’t spend as much on large purchases like appliances and cars (38%), or retail purchases like clothing, electronics or durable goods (36%) in the next three months.

People In This Post

Companies In This Post

  1. Akuna Wallet Unlocks the Digital Economy for African Creatives Read more
  2. Magic Labs Unveils Newton, the First Chain Unification Network, Connecting Leading Wallet Solutions to the AggLayer Read more
  3. Tencent Leverages Cutting-Edge Technology and Partnerships to Lead a New Era of FinTech Innovation Read more
  4. Centralis Group Continues Its Planned Growth Strategy, Acquiring the Business of Admina Fund Services Read more
  5. Ozean Partners With HELIX to Bring $100M of Private Credit On-Chain Read more
300-300 EBINTEC Banner