IRI MarketPulse Survey Finds Conservative Consumer Behaviors Will Remain Prevalent throughout 2014.
After a year of sluggish economic growth in 2013, it is no surprise that consumers are beginning the new year with a conservative outlook. In fact, IRI’s MarketPulse survey found that shopper sentiment dropped in Q4 2013, and this gloomy attitude is spilling over into 2014 across all age groups. It is particularly evident among millennials, who reported a 10-point decline since Q3 2013 and have consistently struggled since the economic downturn began.
“The economy is slowly returning to a healthier state, but the road has been longer and harder than anyone expected, and it has been littered with obstacles,” says Susan Viamari, editor of Thought Leadership, IRI. “As a result, consumers are holding strong to the strategies that saw them through the worst of the downturn.”