While Covid dominated headlines for over two years, inflation has now superseded it as the main talking point among concerned Americans. For many, the mere mention of ‘inflation’ can cause a panic, as rising prices and stagnant incomes mean they can’t keep up with the cost of living.
As millions of people in countries that have experienced ‘hyper-inflation’ will attest to, a good hedge against it is to buy sooner rather than later – the rationale being that, if you plan on making a big purchase such as a car, for example, it is likely the vehicle will be cheaper now than in a few months time. And it appears it is a strategy being adopted by many North Carolinians – that is, according to a survey (2,500) by CouponBirds, a provider of consumer information to do with real-time deals and savings, who found that almost 1 in 3 (32%) North Carolinians say they are purchasing things now, that they don’t necessarily need, in order to to lock in lower prices. This figure was just 6% in Alabama.
America’s New Gold Rush? In another study, the company also analyzed Google search data across the nation, uncovering trends in searches for ‘gold stocks’. These results were then broken down by state to find out where people are most and least worried about inflation, by looking to potentially invest in the precious metal which is widely assumed to be more inflation-proof than most assets.
The research revealed that when inflation surged to 8.5% in March this year (a jump of 0.6%), there was a simultaneous 27.1% spike in online searches for ‘gold stocks’ from worried North Carolinians.
Have you changed your buying habits over the past few months?