KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- 66% of Americans still express high levels of concern about inflation
- 72% of Americans agree "it has been very expensive to feed my family"
- The average American family needs $11,000 - $14,000 more a year to experience the same standard of living as they did prior to the pandemic
- 42% of Owner/Operators expect more play than last year
JON LAST:
As we enter the traditional golf season, facility owners in our annual Golf Business Pulse report continue to espouse a bullish environment, with nearly ubiquitous expectations to continue to push rates higher amidst strong demand. Yet, at face value, the golf renaissance and parallel strong results in other discretionary leisure categories that we track continue to defy overall U.S. sentiment. Nearly two thirds of Americans in our ongoing Consumer Optimism Barometer still express high levels of concern about inflation---the most serious issue among 20 that we regularly track. Concurrently, February saw 72% agree that “it has become very expensive to feed my family,” a similar percentage continue to report higher prices for consumer goods and services, relative to where they were four years ago and less than a quarter feel that the country is headed in a positive direction. We’ve dubbed it a “vibecession,” where our outlook on things remain at the depths, yet consumer behavior isn’t reflecting this, particularly on discretionary leisure purchases like golf. Why the ostensible contradiction?
Our research provides insights into a number of factors at play. The impact of post COVID “revenge spending” is still prevalent. Recent analysis suggests that the stakes are higher and that there is a greater urgency to supersize experiences.For many years, we’ve tracked agreement with the statement “It’s important for my life to include a number of unique experiences.” And while a majority have consistently concurred with such sentiment, those doing so exceeded 72% in February; a significant lift from as recently as November of last year. This zeal for actualization has been amplified by three other recent observations. First, we found across the board majority agreement that one’s dominant life philosophy is more about living for today rather than for tomorrow. This sentiment rang true regardless of political ideology and was evident even among millennials and Gen Z, though particularly acute for those age 35+.
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