State of the Consumer trends report 2025 | McKinsey
At the start of the decade, consumers adopted a slew of new behaviors—almost overnight—in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote work, digital connectivity, and solo activities became the norm for life in lockdown. Today, the world has reopened, but the era of uncertainty and its impact on consumers linger. This article is a collaborative effort by Becca Coggins, Christina Adams, and Kari Alldredge, with Alyssa Hopcus, Justin Shamoun, and Laura Bucklin, representing views from McKinsey’s Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail Practices. Globally, consumer sentiment is still poorer on average than it was at the beginning of 2020, and consumers remain concerned about rising prices and inflation. Despite this persistent uncertainty, they keep spending. In fact, the relationship between sentiment and spending has weakened. Meanwhile, consumers’ expectations for value and convenience have them making unexpected trade-offs across categories: trading down in one place while simultaneously splu