Trend Trend 4: budget coping hardens into a durable repertoire of resourceful consumption

Summary

McKinsey's fourth trend holds that ways of coping with high prices have settled into lasting consumer habits. Rising prices are still the leading worry for most consumers worldwide, and the squeeze stems not only from inflation but also from geopolitical instability and volatile energy costs. What started as short-term responses to this pressure has become structural. Beyond simply spending less or switching to cheaper options, many people are finding more inventive ways to make budgets stretch. They buy secondhand, perform services for themselves and keep what they own in use for longer. The report argues that this resourcefulness is reshaping how consumers define value and what businesses must offer to win them.