Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
To splurge or to save
Consumer
July 30, 2025 – Rising prices remain the foremost concern for consumers across all 18 markets assessed in the McKinsey ConsumerWise Sentiment Survey. This issue significantly surpasses other leading concerns such as climate change, international conflict, and unemployment or job security. Yet, some consumers are reluctant to relinquish the indulgences they adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, note Senior Partner Becca Coggins and coauthors. About one-third of consumers who are concerned about rising prices still intend to splurge. This trend is particularly evident in Brazil, China, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
To read the article, see “State of the Consumer 2025: When disruption becomes permanent,” June 9, 2025.
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Visual form
Diverging stacked column chart with a dot row above it.
Layout / body structure
The chart is read top to bottom and then left to right by country. A row of gray circles across the top shows the share of consumers concerned about rising prices, and below that each country has a diverging column split above and below the midline into consumers who intend to splurge and those who do not.
What is being compared
It compares countries such as Australia, the EU-5, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, China, the UAE, and India on two linked questions: how worried consumers are about rising prices and whether those worried consumers still plan to splurge over the next three months.
Measurement system
The top row uses percentages of consumers concerned about rising prices. The lower bars use percentage-point shares of those concerned consumers, split into intend to splurge versus do not intend to splurge.
Visible structure inside the graphic
Each country has a gray bubble above with a number inside showing concern about rising prices, then a two-color vertical bar below. The light-blue upper section shows the share that still intends to splurge, and the dark-blue lower section shows the share that does not. Australia, the EU-5, and the U.S. have taller negative dark-blue sections, while China, the UAE, and India have much taller positive light-blue splurge sections.
Main takeaway from the visual
The chart shows that concern about inflation does not automatically translate into consumer restraint. Several markets combine elevated price anxiety with a sizable group of consumers who still expect to spend on nonessentials.
Key standout values or extremes
Australia has the highest concern score at 60 and also the largest do-not-splurge share at 44. India shows one of the strongest splurge readings at 31 with only 9 saying they do not intend to splurge. The UAE is also strongly positive at 30 versus 14, while Brazil and Mexico sit in the middle with splurge readings of 26 and 25.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.