Consumer Pulse Study

TransUnion’s quarterly survey explores how consumers’ personal finances have changed and what changes they expect in the future. The study measures shifting consumer attitudes and behaviors based on the dynamics of income, debt and identity theft. The analyses and insights give consumers a voice and inform businesses’ decision-making as they seek to create economic opportunity for consumers.

Inflation remains a headwind for many consumers

Although the annual US inflation rate held steady at 3.7% in Aug. and Sept., down from its high of 9.1% in July 2022, nearly half (45%) said their household incomes hadn’t kept up with inflation, four percentage points higher than Q3 2023. In the last three months, 40% of consumers reported household finances were worse than planned, the highest this year.

Of the (79%) for whom inflation was a top three concern, 58% said they reduced discretionary spending in the past three months compared to 39% for those not concerned about inflation. They were also less likely to apply for new or refinance existing credit in the next year (29% for inflation concerned vs. 46% not concerned). Despite compound inflationary pressure, Americans remained optimistic about their financial futures: 56% expected improved household finances in the next 12 months with Millennials (71%) leading all generations.

Millennials powering the future

More than half (52%) of Millennials reported their finances were better than planned in Q4 2023, 21 percentage points higher than overall. Their financial situations were starkly better than other generations with 37% of Gen Z saying better than planned, 24% of Gen X and 15% of Baby Boomers. A much higher percentage (53%) of Millennials said their incomes kept up with inflation compared to other generations (44% of Gen Z; 26% of Gen X; and 21% of Baby Boomers).

The positive financial position for Millennials resulted in higher economic activity — leading all generations in current and future spending and savings. Over the past three months, Millennials reported saving more in an emergency fund (35%), paying down debt faster (29%) and increasing use of available credit (28%) in the past three months. They also planned to increase spending in the next three months, including in-store or online retail shopping (40%), retirement funding and investing (40%), discretionary spending (35%) and large purchases like appliances or cars (34%).

Federal student loan forbearance ending impacts monthly budgets

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of consumers who have a federal student loan that was previously in forbearance as part of the Department of Education’s COVID-19 relief program were surprised by the announcement repayment would resume in Oct. 2023. Despite that, most appeared prepared to cover increased monthly loan obligations but may sacrifice future financial goals to do so.

More than half (58%) planned to make all student loan monthly payments in full, and 30% planned to make a partial payment each month. Nearly half (45%) reported they have a monthly payment less than $400; 33% between $400 and $799; and 22% said $800 or more. To cover this additional monthly expense, 33% planned to reduce discretionary spending or use their savings; 28% said they’ll get a second job/do part-time or temporary work; 25% will use money from retirement savings; 21% will use credit card available limits; and 19% will borrow from family or friends, or delay a key milestone like marriage or home purchase.

The percentage of consumers who reported having sufficient access to credit and lending products in Q4 2023 was 58% — led by Baby Boomers (71%) and Millennials (60%). Three-quarters of Baby Boomers believed they’d be approved for a credit or lending product if they needed one followed by Millennials (66%), Gen X (51%) and Gen Z (47%).

A third (33%) of all consumers planned to apply for new or refinance existing credit within the next year. More Millennials (53%) planned to do so with 60% of those seeking a new credit card, 36% a personal loan, and 33% a buy now, pay later payment service. Yet, 49% of Millennials said they considered applying for credit but chose not to do so. About a third of those cited various reasons for not seeking credit, including the cost was too high, concerns an application would be rejected due to credit history or income/employment status, or they found an alternative funding source.

A majority (62%) of consumers believed monitoring their credit reports is extremely or very important, and 57% reported monitoring their credit at least monthly. Millennials were the highest among generations; 73% believed monitoring credit is extremely or very important, and 72% reported monitoring their credit at least monthly.

Over two-fifths (41%) of consumers believed their credit scores would increase if businesses used information not found on a standard credit report, such as rental payments and buy now, pay later loans. This jumped to 60% for Millennials, the highest among any generation.

The number of consumers who reported conducting more than 50% of their transactions online was steady at 39%. Nearly half (47%) of Millennials said they conducted most of their transactions online. Concerns with identity theft (35%) was the leading stated obstacle for consumers while using technology in new ways, an increase of three percentage points from Q3 2023.

Fraud reported by half of consumers — could be much higher

About half (48%) of respondents reported they were targeted with online, email, phone call or text message fraud over the last three months, unchanged from Q3 2023. Of those who said they were targeted, 10% claimed they fell victim. Millennials reported being targeted more (53%) and 15% claimed they fell victim, at least six percentage points higher than other generations. While 53% overall said they were not aware of any fraud schemes targeting them, it’s well within reason to assume many more were targeted without knowing it.

Of consumers who said they were targeted, the most common schemes they reported experiencing over the past three months were phishing (fraudulent emails, websites, social posts, QR codes, etc. meant to steal data), smishing (fraudulent text messages meant to trick you into revealing data), and vishing (fraudulent phone calls meant to trick you into revealing data). The only significant change from the prior quarter was for phishing which increased by five percentage points from 39%.

Reports of data breaches raise the specter of account takeover and unauthorized activity

Compared to only 10% who said they were recently victims of fraud, 28% said they’d been notified about their identities and/or online accounts being stolen in a data breach in the last three months — up eight percentage points from Q4 2022. The top actions consumers said they took after being notified were checking accounts for unauthorized activity (43%); changing passwords on affected accounts (42%); changing the password on other, unaffected accounts (36%); and checking their credit reports (36%).

Concern about identity theft goes beyond financial risk

More than three-quarters (78%) of consumers reported concern with sharing personal information, and of those, 74% feared having their personal identities stolen. As for identity theft concerns beyond accessing credit cards or financial accounts, consumers expressed worry their stolen identities might be used to:

• Commit a crime (52%)
• Falsely claim government benefits (50%)
• File a false tax return (46%)
• Obtain medical services/prescription drugs (33%)
• Obtain employment (24%)
• Gain access to workplace systems (23%)

This online survey of 3,000 adults was conducted Sept. 27–Oct. 9, 2023 by TransUnion in partnership with third-party research provider, Dynata. Adults 18 years of age and older residing in the United States were surveyed using an online research panel method across a combination of desktop, mobile and tablet devices. Survey questions were administered in English. All states are represented in the survey responses. To ensure general population sample representativeness across United States resident demographics, the survey included quotas to balance responses to the census statistics on the dimensions of age, gender, household income, race and region. Generations are defined as follows: Gen Z, born 1995–2005; Millennials, born 1980–1994; Gen X, born 1965–1979; and Baby Boomers, born 1944–1964. These research results are unweighted and statistically significant at a 95% confidence level within ± 1.79 percentage points based on calculated error margin. Please note some chart percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding or multiple answers being accepted.