Consumer Pulse (May 28, 2025): Budgeting Concerns + Big Ticket Items

Following mid-May’s drop in consumer sentiment to the second lowest reading on record, consumer confidence is showing some signs of a rebound after the President’s partial pullback of recently imposed tariffs.

Material’s own research shows U.S. households are talking about the economy, politics and tariffs less than they were last month, implying the intensity of economic concerns is cooling. That said, our research also indicates persistent, underlying anxieties and emerging areas of concern – suggesting the relative quiet reflects a complex and cautious landscape, nuanced by fatigue and uncertainty.

Here are more of our latest findings:

Consumers are quieter but remain concerned

As the shock of tariffs recedes, U.S. consumers appear to be buckling in and deciding what to spend on. We’re seeing an increase in discussions about budgeting, with worry over grocery prices being overtaken by concerns about big-ticket purchases like electronics and vehicles. There’s also been a surge of conversations about student loans as borrowers face changes to their repayment status and worry how they’ll fit this sizable expense into their budgets.

Key Findings as of May 15, 2025

• Conversation Trends – After last month’s two-year high, the overall number of economic discussions has begun to drop. Political conversations also dropped – from 19.3% to 12.6% but – but remained above the 2024 average. Tariff-related discussions halved from 10.9% in April to 5.1% in May.

• Market and Policy Perception – References to the stock market dropped to 5.2%, near the long-term average, after April’s spike. There’s no strong evidence that macroeconomic policy news (e.g., trade deals) is influencing conversation volume or tone.

• Sentiment Indicators – Uncertainty dropped 41% from April but remains 3.3x higher than the 2023–2024 average. Anxiety declined modestly by 6.6%, but optimism declined more steeply by 15%. This divergence suggests persistent negative sentiment and emotional fatigue among consumers.

• Budgeting and Financial Strain – Budgeting discussions increased 12.4%, hitting a two-year high. Job security concerns remain elevated – 14.3% above the 2023–2024 average – despite less volatility from DOGE-related headlines. Tax refunds brought short-lived positivity but failed to reverse broader trends.

• Emerging Concerns – Student loan-related discussions are up 15% vs. April, and 21% year-to-date, reflecting growing concern about resumed payments. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) use continues to rise – up 26% over the two-year average – indicating more reliance on installment payment solutions.

• Category-Specific Anxiety – Rising anxiety is concentrated around high-cost items: cars (+10.5%), electronics (+~10%), appliances (+15.5%). Grocery anxiety, in contrast, fell 9.2%. Toy-related anxiety surged 33% since March, potentially hinting at future holiday-related financial stress.

Methodology

The above findings were pulled from an Online Anthropology™ analysis of 21.3 million publicly available, naturally occurring consumer messages about household economic situations from 4,493,414 individuals between January 1, 2023 and May 15, 2025. This dataset includes conversations from dozens of sub-Reddits, Facebook posts and comments, hundreds of financial-focused forums/message boards and other sources.

What’s next?

It remains a challenging time for both consumers and the businesses that serve them. While the volume of economic discussion has cooled slightly, deeper signals – such as persistent anxiety, declining optimism and increased budgeting – indicate that households remain wary. The consumer mood seems to be shaped less by visible economic indicators and more by an underlying fear of instability, particularly around large or unexpected expenses.

Meeting consumers where they are, especially in times of uncertainty, takes a deep understanding of their motivations and priorities. To help you better understand and serve your prospects and customers, Material will continue to provide regular Consumer Pulse updates over the weeks ahead.

To learn more about how we leverage Online Anthropology, Material Spotlight and other proprietary methods to unlock rich, timely consumer insights, reach out today.