KEY IDEA: Even though unemployment is at an all-time low fewer than half (46%) of those who were adults at the time of the recession say they’ve seen their paychecks grow since before it began. With Millennials strapped by student loan debt and increases in health insurance payments they, like a lot of other people, are hurting financially.
The U.S. recovery from the Great Recession is still one of the worst recoveries in history. Consumers are being very careful about how they spend their money and which brands they let into their lives yet some brands continue to act like we are free of the restraints of the last recession.
Consumers, who drive the economy, are starting to cut back and it should have marketers worried. It could mean a recession or it could be just pre-election jitters, but the time to prepare for possible changes are now.