Austere living: The recession’s effects on consumers

London – At our Polarity Paradox Preview Network Evening, held at The Future Laboratory HQ last week, LS:N Global reporter Rowland Manthorpe spoke to Marie Stafford about the JWT Austerity Index and what it revealed about ageing Baby Boomers and the extreme behaviours that have arisen from the widening economic gap.

Stafford, the planning foresight director at communications agency JWT, spoke about the surprising findings from the Austerity Index, notably how pensioners were the least affected by the recession and the most optimistic. ‘We found that pensioners are consistently the most resilient, able to keep spending, more optimistic and feel better about their finances,’ said Stafford. ‘They are an untapped opportunity.’

For more, watch the conversation above and see the preview of one our Trend Briefing macrotrends, the Flat Age Society.

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