"My trusted spreadsheet analyzed Californians' online search habits over the past eight years through October, using Google Trends to identify the kinds of budget-conscious information they sought. I developed the Stretched Wallet Index by analyzing search volumes for 12 phrases related to financial struggles. This index shows the combined fluctuations in searches for those budget-related terms. California's interest in thriftiness increased by 12% over the past year, according to the index."
"Now, online searches aren't perfect indicators of consumer psyche, but this jump seems consistent with various reports of rising financial worries. The recent uptick in these searches followed inflation reaching a four-decade high in 2020-21. The index averaged 4% annual growth from 2021 through 2024 as rising prices smacked household budgets. This upswing runs counter to a drop in thriftiness searches when pandemic-linked shortages made availability, not price, a major consumer need."
Google Trends data over eight years through October were used to create a Stretched Wallet Index measuring search volumes for 12 budget-related phrases. California's index rose 12% year-over-year, while the national index increased 11%. The index averaged 4% annual growth from 2021–2024 after inflation surged in 2020–21, reversing an earlier 2% annual decline from 2018–21 when pandemic shortages shifted consumer focus toward availability. Not all component terms moved the same way; eight phrases drove the recent surge, including 'price cut' (California searches +30%) and 'family budget' (+26%). Search behavior provides an imperfect but consistent indicator of rising financial worries among households.
Read at www.ocregister.com
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