Store Brands Industry Forum on Consumer Trends: Spending Remains Consumers' Top Concern

Life across the world was turned upside down in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic forced consumers to change their lifestyle. 

At the recent Store Brands Industry Forum on Consumer Trends, Josh Rizzo, director of Category Insights at Topco Associates, and Elizabeth Lafontaine, chief retail analyst at EnsembleIQ, detailed the lessons learned during the health crisis and its long-term impacts on retail.

“The consumer landscape is more complex than ever before,” said Rizzo. “When you look at the past three years, a lot of factors have shaped and influenced shoppers’ behaviors, and it's really challenging to pinpoint the consequential aspects of the pandemic, and it’s probably most important to recognize that all of these are really interconnected rather than isolated events.”

Rizzo added that price continues to be top of mind for consumers, citing a focus on the economy supplanting consumers’ focus on COVID-19, which has seen cases decrease for months now.

“Personal finance takes the top spot,” he said. “More than half of consumers are really worried about the economy, and that’s a figure that’s been consistent over the previous months. A lot of them are wondering ‘what are we going to do and how is this going to affect my wallet.’”

Lafontaine added consumers overall are feeling hesitant about spending, leading to new challenges for retail. She said that for the most part, consumers didn’t feel cautious about spending during the pandemic.

“That’s [consumer spending concerns] not a problem we had during the pandemic,” said Lafontaine. “People were at home, people were feeling personally weather than ever because of rising home values, stimulus checks and people just not really leaving their houses, so retail was a place of comfort. I think that retailers are really facing challenges of how to reach the consumer today, and at this point in time… it’s pretty clear that the consumer is pulling back on their spending.” 

The full event can be viewed on-demand here.