The Winter ATCI survey from McNair Ingenuity Research shows that women are more concerned about the economy than men - they are more likely to feel that it is time to tighten the belt and significantly less confident about their financial future. While Australian credit card debt is particularly high at the moment, most people feel that this is not a good time to be letting the credit card debt run a little higher than normal. Women and people aged 50 and over are the most likely to profess caution in running up large credit card bills.

Most Australians are neutral on whether this is a good time to be buying luxury goods - other than younger people - aged 18-29, who are most likely to agree that they feel confident about buying a few luxury items at the moment, compared to how they felt a few months previously.

The Australians Today Consumer Insights research program also shows that more affluent and successful people (marketers call them 'AB's ) are happier than the overall population (6.9 compared to 6.6). The survey showed that people who watch the least amount of TV are also happier than heavy TV watchers, although this may not be a causal relationship - perhaps people with very active lifestyles are happier and happen to also have less time for watching TV.

McNair Ingenuity Research also use a set of questions to profile how people see the world and their interactions with other people. The findings of these questions reinforce the overall trends, showing that Australian women tended to think about the past more this winter, while men looked more to the future. Men scored higher on `social'- wanting to meet more people, while women retreated to more intimate relationships - preferring to spend quality time with just a few friends.

How This Research Is Conducted

McNair Ingenuity Research survey over 2,000 adults and 1,000 children every year for the Australian's Today Consumer Insights research program, using state-of-the-art techniques to ensure that the survey sample is representative of the whole population. The results above come from the Autumn and Winter 2002 waves of the research, including over 1,500 respondents. Ingenuity Research are audited and accredited by Interviewer Quality Control Australia (IQCA) the industry watchdog for survey quality.

The above information is copyright to McNair Ingenuity Research and may not be reproduced or published without McNair Ingenuity Research's express permission. Contact Matt Balogh ph 02 9966 9133.