67% of consumers surveyed share they’re holding out for sales and promotions as they navigate a changing economy.  

Consumers and brands are operating in a fast-moving and highly uncertain environment right now. This means consumers' mindsets and behaviors are shifting quickly, and it's a challenge for brands to stay up to date and ensure their message is resonating. 

To respond to this, we're launching the Attentive Consumer Pulse: a new monthly survey of 600 US consumers to stay on top of the latest trends and track how consumer mindset is shifting month to month. Our goal is to help brands keep up with the latest information in this fast-moving environment, connect effectively with consumers, and inform decision-making as they navigate change and uncertainty—especially as we approach BFCM. 

While the challenges of the current macro-environment are very real, a positive note is that the impact to consumer spending and confidence is driven by uncertainty versus poor underlying economic indicators. For example, job growth and the labor market are strong and inflation is de-accelerating the last few months, with another decrease in March. 

‍Based on this, our take is that we're seeing more consumer hesitancy than an inability to spend right now. One way to overcome that hesitancy is in understanding consumers’ mindsets, and how to connect with them through messaging that resonates.

Here are the five key takeaways from April’s Attentive Consumer Pulse.

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1. Consumers are pulling back on non-essential spend

Survey says:

• 43% say their spending on non-essential items has decreased slightly over the last three months.
• 49% have delayed or canceled a planned purchase.
• The only category where most consumers are spending more now is grocery, reflecting rising food costs. In all other categories, such as apparel, beauty, home, and travel, most consumers are holding spending steady, or spending less.

The data shows that consumers are more cautious with spend, in some cases delaying or canceling purchases, and in many cases, just holding spend steady while they monitor the economic situation. This is an important time for brands to continue to be present and engaging with shoppers, even if it’s not about driving immediate purchases. Think of ways to build connections, whether digitally, e.g., SMS or email updates with the latest brand or product news, or in-store events that create a fun and positive experience with your brand.

Also consider using smart segmentation at this time to build relevant connections. Segmenting by when a shopper signed up for your program or browsed your website will be key to increasing campaign ROI. Subscribers who have browsed or signed up during this period of uncertainty have made it clear they’re interested in shopping. Target them with product-focused and value-driven content to increase conversions. Meanwhile, engage shoppers who signed up or browsed before tariffs went into effect with brand updates and invites to stay top of mind until they’re ready to shop. 

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2. Consumers are understandably wary about what’s ahead

Survey says:

• 78% plan some change to how they shop in the next month if ‌economic concerns continue.
• Of those, 68% plan to buy fewer items, 67% will hold out for sales and promotions, and 60% switch to lower-cost alternatives. 

With shoppers pulling back spend, doubling down on converting high-intent shoppers will help you capture as much revenue as possible. Now is a great time to optimize your journeys to prove your brand’s value and foster product discovery. 

Optimizations are especially impactful in high-intent flows like your welcome series and cart abandonment reminders. Highlight the value of your products—whether that’s a special limited-time offer or the quality of your products—to increase urgency. And recommend similar or complementary products to increase the chance a subscriber finds what they’re looking for (and drive a higher AOV). 

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3. Consumers will still shop, but it’s important that a brand’s message resonates 

Survey says:

• 68% are likely to be convinced to buy with brands communicating clear value or savings, such as limited-time discounts, loyalty rewards, or offers.
• 45% are looking for low-risk purchase options, like flexible returns, buy-now-pay-later options, or free shipping.
• 41% want to feel confident that it’s the right product, and brands can help with personalized recommendations, reviews, and easy product comparisons. 

To convince consumers who might be hesitant to make a purchase, lean into segmented, value-based messaging to deliver timely deals and offers to the most receptive shoppers. This is also an opportunity to craft personalized product recommendations, share product comparisons, and use social proof such as reviews in your messaging to help consumers feel secure about their purchase. 

Even without economic uncertainty, 96% of consumers say they’re likely to purchase when receiving at least one type of personalized message. These messages include back-in-stock notifications, loyalty points reminders, or product recommendations based on ‌past purchases. 

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4. Price is top of mind for consumers, and they’re looking for transparency

Survey says:

• 61% want to know when prices will change and by how much.
• 48% want proactive communication on the cause of price changes, such as supply chain impact and imports.
• 42% are looking for price transparency of any changes at a product level, i.e., some products may be impacted and others not, or impact might vary.

Ensure you have a clear communication strategy around any changes, and even if you’re not planning on making any changes, consumers will likely appreciate the good news! Use clear and straightforward language and mention that some factors are out of your control. Be honest about how these changes will impact the prices of specific products. 

As well as broader communication, you can also create specific segments to reach price-aware subscribers by: 

• Using Attentive AI™ Pro to identify your budget or value-conscious shoppers.
• Creating a “price conscious” segment that includes subscribers who only purchase during sales and/or with a discount or promotion.
• Matching product recommendations to users based on previously purchased price points
• Highlighting non-price-reduction incentives, such as free shipping or priority delivery at no additional cost.

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5. Consumers are already looking ahead to the holidays

Survey says: 

• 80% anticipate some change to their holiday spend. 
• 44% will search for more details and discounts, which is likely to be top of mind for consumers this season.
• 34% plan on buying fewer items. Consumers will be searching for that “perfect” gift. 
• 27% will start shopping earlier for the holidays. 

‍It’s only April, but we also know that the holiday season is a critical time of the year for many brands. So we're already keeping an eye on consumer behavior for this time of year, and plan to keep a regular eye on this month-to-month. Based on current consumer sentiment, it’s likely that deals and discounts will be top of mind, as well as finding the “perfect” gift rather than buying several items. 

The holiday shopping period tends to kick off in October, but this year might be even earlier and start in September. Shoppers will be looking for deals, spending time finding ideal gifts, and spreading their spend across more months. 

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With the launch of this monthly consumer survey, we’ll continue to share consumer sentiment and behavioral changes in the current economic climate. If you’re an Attentive customer and want to discuss some of these strategies and insights in more detail, please reach out to your CSM.