Facing uncertainties across everyday life flows, U.S. consumers look to economic and health security — and welcome businesses to support these, we learn in an analysis from The Conference Board. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Conference Board (TCB) polled 3,000 U.S. consumers gauging their perspectives on uncertainties emerging out of the new Trump administration’s policy changes introduced in the first quarter of 2025.

The chart details people’s financial/fiscal responses in blue, and the health (mental, social, and physical aspects) in yellow:

  • Consumers’ fiscal strategies for coping with uncertainty are to seek out more affordable brands and retailers, adjusting lifestyles, postponing purchases, and reviewing/planning for financial well-being
  • Health strategies address focusing more on health and selfcare, spending more time with family and friends (the social health dimension), and Indulging in things that make me happy.

You can see some consumers also changing their news-consumption habits to quell stressors of uncertainty, as well.

The Conference Board titled this report as “How Business Can Succeed as US Consumers Guard Wealth, Health Amid Uncertainty.”

Here, the noun “business” covers both the organizations consumers patronize in terms of spending and engagement, as well as consumers’ employers who cut their paychecks. So in terms of the retail connection between a consumer and a brand or store, TCB recommends,

  • Offering products and services at different price levels, from deeply discounted to high-end, as well as bundling products at different price points
  • Offering “small luxuries” that consumers with disposable income value and enjoy (that “indulge in things that make me happy” data point in the chart)
  • Delivering helpful and supportive communications that help people manage the tariff era — consider transparency messages, price-value-quality comparisons, and honest conversations in Q&As and online communities
  • Supporting health consumers well-being intentions across the health spectrum — mind-body-spirit-wallet.

Furthermore, employers’ role should, in TCB’s words, “prioritize employee well-being during these uncertain times.” That means recognizing the pandemic and economic aftermath many workers and families continue to feel, support mental well-being for workers and families, and adjust employee benefit programs to encourage balance, relaxation, financial, social, and holistic health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health Populi’s Hot Points:  In the first quarter of 2025, U.S. consumers’ credit situations eroded, with people who have taken out loans for autos, home mortgages, and education student loans being more delinquent in paying these back.

Credit card payments, too, became more delinquent on a 90+ day basis, as the chart from the Federal Reserve of New York’s 1Q2025 report illustrates.

Consumers who make only the minimum payments on cards are more likely to have student loan debt than other creditors; this group of cardholders has been dubbed “credit treadmillers” in a PYMNTS analysis published earlier this year, with financial stress a further risk for well-being in daily life.

Finally, we must call out a trend of  “America’s Second Shift.” Note that “side hustles are now a financial lifeline,” PYMNTS noted in a May 14th story — as “necessity is the primary driver for most side hustlers, with covering basic living expenses, building savings and paying down debt” the most common goals.

 

 

 

 

 

In just-breaking news, I’ll add today’s Walmart earnings announcement –– while positive in the moment, a call-out of concern in the “Guidance” section to watch for impacts of tariffs (that is, higher prices) which could ration Walmart shoppers’ spending in the second quarter of 2025, and beyond.