Levels have consistently risen since January, growing by 307% so far. The peaks were mainly caused by discussions around exploding energy prices and rising inflation, particularly in relation to events in Europe.

While energy and inflation are clearly major concerns around the cost of living, they’re not the whole picture. As we’ll see, worries about groceries, medicine, and rent are high too. And unsurprisingly, people are expressing strong feelings about this online.

It’s an emotional topic

As you would expect, the cost of living conversation online is not a positive one. A massive 92% of sentiment-categorized mentions are negative, with sadness and anger the most expressed emotions.

But the fastest growing emotion is fear. This year, the number of fearful mentions increased by 22% in July and August compared to May and June. With the big drivers of this conversation focusing around anxiety and worry, it suggests people are not only struggling now, but increasingly concerned about the future..

To get a deeper understanding about the emotions landscape, we used Social Panels to divide the conversations into different generations.

Sadness is the dominating emotion across all generations by a strong margin. This reflects concerns about wages and income, family expenses, and what’s to come in the winter months.

But we can also see there’s a change as people get older.

The stereotype of the angry baby boomer doesn’t hold when it comes to the cost of living crisis. Instead it’s Gen Z and millennials leading the way here. This likely reflects these generations’ frustration with trying to find their place in life and society as they’re battered by rising costs and inflation.

Now let’s break things down to the national level and compare the picture across six countries.

Cost of living discussions in different countries

For this we’re going to look at the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and the biggest topics within the cost of living conversation for each.

Let’s see how things stack up.

Straight away we can see that the situation varies a lot from country to country.

Rising grocery prices are the main talking point in France, Italy, and Spain. People in the UK talk the most about rising energy prices and other bills. For consumers in the US gas prices play a higher role than in other countries. German consumers talk more likely about rising fuel prices.

Notably, interest rates only make the top five for the UK. The data from our report doesn’t cover recent events in the UK, where interest rates have already been rising since January. This is expected to continue, with some predicting rates as high as 6%.

This is devastating news for homeowners who will see their mortgage prices skyrocket, adding even more pressure to their finances. Reflecting the country’s worries, Google searches for interest rates are now the highest they’ve ever been.

Saving energy is a big issue in online consumer conversations

People don’t just worry online, they also talk about what they plan to do. We decided to find out which actions people are talking about the most as they figure out how to deal with the cost of living crisis.

Bringing down bills is clearly at the top of the list, with using less energy and water, and finding new providers, taking the top spots. But some are also looking for higher wages to help balance the books.

Will there be a panic buying revival?

Rising prices also have an influence on how consumers are shopping. As we’ve seen, rising grocery prices are one of the major cost of living topics.

There are a number of actions people are discussing taking in relation to this, including switching to cheaper products, going out less, and shopping at budget-friendly supermarkets.

But one way stood out from all the rest: stocking up on high-demand products. We saw panic buying leading to empty shelves thanks to Covid not that long ago. Do these discussions indicate panic buying is making a comeback?

As of yet, no, but consumers are worried they could soon stand in front of empty shelves again, while others are already planning to stock up to save money. Based on the scale of worry, concern, and fear we’ve discovered, the return of panic buying can’t be ruled out.

Whatever the future brings, it’s beyond clear that millions around the world are set for tough times in the coming months, and an increasing number of them will be taking actions to soften the blow.

More consumer insights around the cost of living

In our latest report Cost of living and changing consumer behavior you can read more about how consumers are adapting:

• How consumers talk about the cost of living crisis
• How consumers want to save money
• How their shopping and mobility habits have changed

Read it now.

What should we cover next?

Is there a topic, trend, or industry you’d like us to feature in the Brandwatch Bulletin? We want to hear your ideas to ensure our readers get what they want. We may even ask to interview you if you’re involved with the topic.

Send any and all ideas to [email protected] and let’s talk.

Thanks for reading

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Stay safe,

The Brandwatch Bulletin team