2025年9月美国消费者心智报告

SEPTEMBER 2025 ABOUT THIS STUDY Survey Methodology •The survey was conducted bydentsuviaToluna, an onlineresearch panel.•Administered on September 3, 2025.•Distributed among a random sample of 1,000 U.S.respondents 18 years of age or older.•Controls for nationally representative weighting acrossage, gender, region, race and ethnicity (using the latestpublicly available U.S. Census numbers) E X E C U T I V ES U M M A R Y WHERE WE’VE BEEN: THE PAST FOUR WAVES SEPTEMBER AUGUST JUNE JULY CONTINUED UNCERTAINTY. MIXED SIGNALS AS CONSUMERS‘WAIT AND SEE’. WARY TODAY, CAUTIOUSLYOPTIMISTIC TOMORROW. CAUTIOUS STABILIZATION WITHPERSISTENT DIVIDES. •Economic sentiment showsminimal movement, withAmericans maintaining recessionfears.•Nearly three-quarters continueplanning spending changes dueto tariff concerns, signalingpersistent uncertainty abouttrade policy impacts.•Consumers continue to makestrategic spending decisions—aggressive cuts to foodspending and trading down onessentials while protectingother discretionary categories,such as fitness or electronics. •Economic sentiment showsminimal movement, however,future optimism jumps 5 pointsto 42%.•54% of consumers can afford allmonthly expenses (up 5 points),driven by middle-incomehouseholds.•Post-summer normalization seestargeted cuts across bothdiscretionary expenses andessentials.•Continued protection of valuedcategories like travel, signalingcalculated bets rather thanpanic cuts. •Economic anxiety begins to cool,but Americans remain splitbetween those finding financialrelief and those facingintensifying pressure.•Personal financial outlooksdiverge between improvementversus deterioration.•Consumer spending revealssophisticated prioritymanagement-protectingvalued discretionary categorieswhile aggressively trading downon essentials. •Perceptions that the impact oftariffs will be negative aresoftening as price hikes have yetto materialize.•Many consumers appear to besomewhat loosening the pursestrings to increase discretionaryspending.•At the same time, anxiety aboutthe future US economycontinues to grow.•More consumers report notbeing able to afford theirmonthly expenses–acrossincome levels. VIEWS ON THEECONOMY VS.LIVED EXPERIENCE ECONOMIC SENTIMENT STEADILY NEGATIVE AMID WARNING SIGNS. Economic sentiment appears largely unchanged from August, with 62% viewing the economy negatively and 38% viewing the economypositively. Americansappear to be processing a series of warning signs—a cooling labor market, rising inflation, and policy uncertainty—with wariness. HALF OF AMERICANS STILL BELIEVE RECESSION IS HERE. Even though there's been no official recession since 2020, half of Americans still believe the US economy is in one. It's a reminder that perception often mattersmore than reality when it comes to how people make spending decisions. TARIFF FEARS LEVEL OFF AS POLICY REMAINS FLUID. Tariff anxiety has stabilized with around half of consumers expecting more negative than positive impacts. As evidence mountsthat inflation is creeping backinto the economy, the White House announced that it wouldconsider lowering tariffs–a sign that the issue remains fluid. PERSONAL FINANCES SHOW RESILIENCE DESPITE MACRO PESSIMISM. Americans seem to be separating how they're doing personally from how they think the country is doing economically. 54% of consumers report being able toafford all monthly expenses, up 5 percentage points from August. ROLLING 3-MONTH AVERAGE: AFFORDINGMONTHLY EXPENSES IN PAST 30 DAYS ROLLING 3-MONTH AVERAGE:SENTIMENT ABOUT PERSONAL FINANCES SEPTEMBER BRINGS FINANCIAL RELIEF ACROSS ALL INCOME LEVELS. This month delivered good news: low earners gained 6 points to 41% affordability, middle earners jumped 7 points to 61%, andhigh earners improved 5 points to78%. The inequality gap still exists, but it's not widening right now. SPENDING RETREATS AS SUMMER SURGE ENDS. Coming out of the summer, people are cutting back across the board—both on fun stuff like dining out and travel, and on necessities like groceries andhousehold items. This looks like typical post-summer behavior where people rein in their spending after loosening up during vacation season. RESTAURANTS HIT HARDEST BY CUTS AS FOOD PRICES SOAR. Dining out has the biggest spending drop at-19%, followed by household necessities at-16% and groceries and fast food both at-15%. Foodprices soaredinrecent weeks, and people may be responding by eating out less and being more careful about grocery spending. CATEGORY PURCHASERS WHO HAVE DONE THE FOLLOWING IN THE PAST 30 DAYS Reduced my spending or delayed a purchase. CONSUMERS CUT CORNERS ON BASICS TO AFFORD PREMIUMS. The biggest trading down is happening with groceries and household necessities (both-21%), while travel and luxury spending patterns are more neutral. Thisshows consumers are being strategic—they're buying cheaper versions of everyday stuff while less likely to compromise on premiums they value. FEWER CONSUMERS CHAN