Marketing in a cost-of-living-crisis

Marketing in a cost-of-living-crisis. 2022 has been a year of two-pronged economic anxiety. First, inflation gripped the globe, and now, most major economies appear poised for a recession that isn’t expected to offer much pricing relief.

Ongoing pandemic-related supply chain difficulties, and the war in Ukraine, have combined to bring on an era of stagflation, where probable recession has combined with inflation. Even as consumers spend less, certain factors causing prices to rise are proving implacable. According to data from the OECD, the Consumer Confidence Index is down throughout the US, the UK, Europe and China, with major regional variations.

A survey from Rival Spark found that most consumers in the UK (51%) expect their personal economic situation to decline in the near term; in the US, almost half (46%) expect the opposite. The combination of inflation and a probable recession makes this an atypical downturn. This also means the long-standing advice to marketers to maintain spending on brand advertising, and keep building share of voice, is even more important; Consumers in an inflationary environment may be even more likely to seek out less expensive brands.

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