Kia ora there, 

Welcome to the July issue of Mind & Matters. Over June we saw a significant rise in negative emotions, particularly among younger New Zealanders under 34 years. This group were the most likely to feel stressed (56%), frustrated (55%) and anxious (53%). Matching this increase in negativity, our 12-month outlook and perception of New Zealand's direction has also continued to worsen, with a significant decline in the number of Kiwis who believe things will get better in the next year and a new peak in the proportion of people who believe New Zealand is headed in the wrong direction (60%).

We continue to see the impact of the cost of living crisis with many New Zealanders reducing their spending overall. In June, we saw this impact markedly in our younger generations, with 48% of New Zealanders under 34 years reporting they were cutting back. 

In this issue:

• How we're feeling
• 12-month outlook
• New Zealand's direction
• New Zealanders' financial situation
• Cost of living
• Household expenditure.

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Ngā mihi,

The Perceptive and Sapien Team

The number of Kiwis who believe things will get better in the next 12 months has dropped significantly (-12% since April). 

Data suggests Kiwis are opting to reduce spending overall instead of using other means to pay for things (e.g. credit).

A third of New Zealanders (33%) are saving little or nothing after purchasing essentials.

Positive emotions decline

As winter settles in, New Zealanders are feeling less hopeful, less optimistic, and less motivated. Negative emotions are starting to rise as New Zealanders feel more stressed, frustrated, and anxious. Positively though, ‘hope’ remains in first place as the most widely felt emotion.

New Zealanders’ 12-month outlook continues to worsen

June has seen a notable drop in the proportion of New Zealanders who believe things will get better for their family in the next year (-9% since May, and -12% since April). Even though there is still a bigger proportion of New Zealanders who believe things will improve, the gap between them is getting smaller with 20% of New Zealanders now believing things will get worse. June has also seen an increase in the number of New Zealanders who believe things will remain ‘about the same’ (+6% since May).

Perceptions of the country’s direction remain pessimistic
The proportion of New Zealanders who believe the country is headed in the wrong direction has been in an upwards trend for the past couple of months, and it has now reached a new high (60%).

A third of New Zealanders have little/nothing to save
In June, 33% of New Zealanders said their income covers the essentials and that they have little/nothing left over to save, representing a small improvement on last month (35%).
 
Cost of living remains a big concern
June saw an increase in the proportion of people having to ‘cut back’ on what they buy (+7%) due to inflation. There was also a drop in the proportion of those who are having to use their savings/credit card to afford what they need (-7%). This indicates more people are opting to reduce spending overall instead of using other means to pay for things.

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Why we're running this tracker

In April 2020, Perceptive and Sapien built their first Covid-19 tracker to help businesses and leaders better understand the hearts and minds of New Zealanders as we experienced this unprecedented event.

Fast forward to 2023 and the world—and New Zealand—continues to experience change on multiple fronts, from rising inflation to the rise of eCommerce and generative AI. With this in mind, Perceptive and Sapien have taken the best of our Covid-19 tracker to produce this comprehensive programme that explores what Kiwis think, feel and believe in relation to some of the most topical and challenging issues of today.

Please note that no part of the data or insights contained in this email may be edited or reproduced in any way without the permission of Perceptive or Sapien.