Rising prices remain the foremost concern for consumers across all 18 markets assessed in the McKinsey ConsumerWise Sentiment Survey. This issue significantly surpasses other leading concerns such as climate change, international conflict, and unemployment or job security. Yet, some consumers are reluctant to relinquish the indulgences they adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, note Senior Partner Becca Coggins and coauthors. About one-third of consumers who are concerned about rising prices still intend to splurge. This trend is particularly evident in Brazil, China, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
Image description:
A bar chart illustrates the share of consumers who plan to splurge or not, despite being concerned about rising prices, across 9 countries. The chart is divided into 2 sections: the top section displays the percentage of consumers concerned about rising prices, ranging from 37% in Saudi Arabia to 60% in Australia. The bottom section shows the percentage of consumers who intend to splurge and those who do not. The data reveal that in Australia, 16% intend to splurge and 44% do not, while in India, 31% intend to splurge and 9% do not. Countries with lower concern about rising prices, such as Saudi Arabia and India, tend to have a higher proportion of consumers who intend to splurge, at 23% and 31% respectively. In contrast, countries with higher concern about prices, such as Australia and the US, have lower proportions of consumers who intend to splurge, at 16% and 14% respectively.
Note: This image description was completed with the assistance of Writer, a gen AI tool.
Source: McKinsey ConsumerWise Sentiment Survey, Q2 2025 (n = 25,998).
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To read the article, see “State of the Consumer 2025: When disruption becomes permanent,” June 9, 2025.