scar mood monitor december 2015
TRANSCRIPT
How Australians are feeling right now
Issue 6 : Results from October 2015
How they’re feeling…
of people are worried
about crime and
violence
are in a
positive
mood
(the same as this time last year)
1 in 3 people are
worried about drugs, while the increase of crime and
violence is also on Australians’ minds.
Overall, Australians remain in a positive mood – feeling happy and content.
Australians remain in a positive mood and
feel happy and content.
Recent consumer and business sentiment reports have indicated
that Australia is experiencing a slight upwards bounce. This is
also reflected in the results from our report that show that
Australians are in the same most positive mood they were this
time last year – the highest results in the 2.5 years of tracking.
As we have discovered from our previous Mood Monitor results, a
variety of forces on a global, national and also personal level can
impact on mood. Political events such as elections and budget
announcements will play an important part on happiness – if the
results impact directly on a household.
Whilst people might be worried about things such as crime and
violence and future terrorist attacks, their happiness will not be
effected unless the issue impacts their wallet. If basic needs are
being met, and Australians are happy with their ‘lot’, it seems they
will remain in a state of happiness and contentment.
The wave of happiness – putting it into perspective.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, June 2013, October 2013, June 2014, October 2014, May 2015, October 2015 “And just so we can narrow it down a little, from the following list,
which word or words best describes your mood at the moment?” June 2013 n=4066 October n=1128 June 2014 n=1434 October 2014 n=1689 June 2015 N=2425 October 2015 n=5101
What’s happened to influence people’s happiness…
Release of the
Federal Budget.
Concern about the
financial position of
the country and most
others in the world
New Federal
Government voted
in. People had a
hope that this would
set the country on a
better path
Release of the
Federal Budget and
resulting impact on
families and
businesses
Terrorism threats
have overshadowed
most economic
influencers but aren’t
particularly affecting
happiness levels
Release of the
Federal Budget.
Whilst impact on
lower income
families, businesses
will get a big break
happiness
Leadership spill with
new Prime Minister.
Terrorism threats
remain but are
overseas not local.
Syrian refugees in
media.
Segmentation – painting the picture of the segments in this report.
This report has been segmented into various stages of life that may impact significantly on how the world is perceived and the economic pressures felt.
Sarah is 24 years old and lives with two of her
friends in an inner city share house. After finishing
uni a few years ago, she now works at an ad
agency in a junior position – but she has some
pretty big aspirations for her career. After work
she either heads to a personal training session or
out with friends. Being single, she’s pretty social
on the weekends but doesn’t go too crazy as
she’s very careful with her money. She’s enjoying
her freedom at the moment but dreams of one day
finding a great guy to settle down with.
The Wilsons are a family of four. Father Dan
works as an accountant and mother Rebecca
works part time doing office work for a local small
business. Their daughter Lilly and son William
both go to the local primary school. They’re
paying off their family home but still feel
comfortable with their financial position. They go
on a holiday every year and can afford to take
their kids to after school activities and fun things
on the weekends.
David and Jan have been married for 30 years and
have raised three children. Only their youngest,
who is 24 still lives at home but he’s pretty self
sufficient. David still works but Jan retired last year.
They’ve paid off their home but are a bit concerned
about their superannuation investments and
whether it will be enough for them to live
comfortably on in the future. For this reason they’re
very careful with their money and stick to a budget.
Although they’ve experienced plenty of ups and
downs in their lives, and are worried about how
money issues might effect them and their children,
they’re pretty happy and content with their life.
Age 18-29 years. No
children. They may or
may not own a home.
They may be single or
in a relationship.
Age 30-49 years.
Have children under
18 years in the
home. Either
married or in a
defacto relationship.
Age 50+. No children
under 18 at home.
They may or may not
own a home.
Australians are slightly more positive than they were in May this year – and are back to the highest level of positivity since our tracking began.
Australians’ positivity is buoyed – suggesting a link with consumer sentiment.
After the Federal budget release in May, positivity increased just slightly to the same level it was this time last
year. It appears that a new Prime Minister may have had a positive effect on consumer sentiment and
people’s moods.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, June 2013 & October 2013, June 2014 & October 2014, May 2015 & October 2015 “When you think about your mood generally about your life, lifestyle, country,
economy etc, what ONE WORD would you use to best describe how you feel right now?’ June 2013 n=4066 October n=1128 June 2014 n=1434 October 2014 n=1689 May 2015 N=2425, October 2015 N=5101
Note: Calculated by considering positive verbatim responses as a percentage of all responses.
positivity
48%
Issues that are ‘close to home’, directly impact people’s happiness and the things worrying them on a personal level.
As we’ve mentioned in previous reports,
there seems to be a correlation between
people’s happiness and the things worrying
them on a personal level. An increase in positivity this time around would
therefore suggest that issues at home are not
causing as much of an issue as they have in the
past. The cost of living – including energy and
grocery prices – are less of a concern than ever
before. In fact, energy prices are now only the 5th
top worry for Australians right now. Higher up are
crime and violence, drugs, future terrorist attacks
and illegal immigration. All of which are not generally
direct impacts on the home – and hence positivity
has not been eroded.
Healthcare Unemployment
Quality and availability
of education
Availability and
affordability of energy
Future terrorist
attacks
Crime and violence
Environment
Illegal immigration
Australian economy Worldwide
economy
strong weak
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “How worried are you about the following things....?” Very Worried n=5101
Empty Nesters remain the most positive segment, but Family Flocks and Free as a Birds are the happiest they’ve been in 3 years.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “When you think about your mood generally about your life, lifestyle, country, economy etc, what ONE WORD
would you use to best describe how you feel right now?’ n=5101 Free as a Bird N=1025 Family Flock n=1448 Empty Nesters n=463
Empty Nesters are feeling the most
positive of all the segments – but Family
Flocks and Free as a Birds are the most
positive they’ve been in 3 years.
As we’ve seen previously, Family Flocks are
generally the group feeling the least positive. This
is typically because they have additional stresses
to their home life – including financial pressures.
However, Family Flocks haven’t been this positive
for two years – a sign that things might be looking
up for them.
Empty Nesters are positive but this has dropped
since October 2014. This is possibly due to factors
influencing their financial situation including low
interest rates impacting their superannuation
performance.
% who are feeling positive at the moment
We asked Australians how they felt about their current life, lifestyle,
country and economy – and these are the words they gave us……
Australians’ positivity is driven by feeling happy and content.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “When you think about your mood generally about your life, lifestyle, country, economy etc, what
ONE WORD would you use to best describe how you feel right now?’ n=5101 Free as a Bird N=1025 Family Flock n=1448 Empty Nesters n=463
Overall, Australians are feeling positive – in particular content and happy. But it
also looks like they might be starting to feel a little tired and stressed as the year
comes to an end.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, June 2013, October 2013, June 2014, October 2014, May 2015, October 2015 “And just so we can narrow it down a little, from the
following list, which word or words best describes your mood at the moment?” October 2015 n=5101 June 2015 n=2425
When it came to choosing the mood they feel, Australians are just as happy as they were in June.
How are people feeling right now?
Once we asked people to choose from a selection
of ‘moods’, happy and content still came out on top
– with positive taking third position.
Australians remain the happiest they’ve been in two years.
Interestingly, these figures are almost identical to those in
June 2015.
38%
36%
30%
27%
24%
24%
22%
13%
8%
4%
Free as a Birds are feeling the happiest out of the three segments.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “And just so we can narrow it down a little, from the following list, which word or words best
describes your mood at the moment?” n=5101 Free as a Bird N=1025 Family Flock n=1448 Empty Nesters n=463
The top mood for all three segments is ‘happy’, with Free as a Birds feeling the happiest.
Family Flocks seem to be a happier bunch this time around. Their top four moods are positive ones and they are 15% more likely to be
‘happy’ now compared with June 2015.
3%
8%
20%
22%
22%
30%
31%
37%
38%
44%
Angry
Pessimistic
Frustrated
Concerned
Excited
Anxious
Optimistic
Positive
Content
Happy
4%
5%
9%
20%
22%
24%
25%
26%
36%
38%
Angry
Pessimistic
Excited
Anxious
Frustrated
Concerned
Optimistic
Positive
Content
Happy
5%
6%
8%
17%
22%
24%
26%
29%
34%
37%
Angry
Pessimistic
Excited
Anxious
Frustrated
Optimistic
Concerned
Positive
Content
Happy
Putting their lives in perspective enables Australians to feel happy.
Source : Happiness Research Institute; Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, McLeod, S. A. (2007); SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015 n=5101 ‘How
do you feel about the following statements? : Australia has a much stronger economy than most other countries in the world at the moment’ Unsure = 41%
For those that said their current mood was happy,
this happiness seems to be derived from putting
their lives in perspective. They recognise that
they’re better off than other countries but also
other people.
As the Happiness Institute describes, happiness is derived
from relative wealth – a person’s wealth in comparison with
their ‘neighbour’ – rather than their absolute wealth.
Australians seem to have realised their wealth is greater
than that of other countries and are grateful for it. Indeed,
45% of Australians believe that the Australian economy is
doing better than most other countries in the world. It seems
to be an overall feeling of ‘we’re doing okay so we can’t
complain’. In their own words…
Why are you feeling happy?
Happiness is derived from meeting basic needs – a home, a job,
and family are what seem to matter most to Australians.
In their own words, why are they feeling happy?
“I have a great family, surrounded by wonderful friends and I finally have
a job that I love”
“I love my family, my partner and most days my job. I am far better off
than most people.”
Overall, people are feeling happy because they have their lives in perspective. They feel that ‘all is good’ –
they’re grateful for their position in life because they know there are people much worse off then themselves.
Family, health, jobs, home and friends are key drivers of happiness.
“Everything is going pretty good, few small issues but overall we are lucky,
espically when you look at what is happening in other parts of the world”
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “Thinking about your life overall, including your family, lifestyle, country, economy
etc, what ONE WORD would you use to best describe your MOOD right now?” & ‘And why do you feel this way?’ n=5101
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “Thinking about your life overall, including your family, lifestyle, country,
economy etc, what ONE WORD would you use to best describe your MOOD right now? And why do you feel this way? n=5101
The necessity to have basic needs met in order to feel happy is highlighted by the fact that those who are unhappy feel this way due to financial pressure, health issues and family life.
Not having enough money and work are key drivers of unhappiness for Australians. In their own words…
“We all are getting overtaxed, We are paying way too much for everything, food, rent, petrol,
electricity, Internet and there is no money left at the end of the week to live. The rich pay next to
nothing in tax and we pay through the nose. So, at times I am disillusioned.”
“Not earning enough money, not enough savings, too many bills”
“Working long hours, hardly see my kids or partner, kids have to go into before and afterschool care
due to work and having no family around us, trying to study as well as be Director of a childcare
Centre, house needs fixing but can't afford it, need a new car but can't afford it and the list goes on,
but hey a least i have 2 healthy boys, just wish i could spend more time with them and be able to take
them on holidays whilst they are still young”
“It seem every year its getting harder and we need to work harder and longer just to try and
enjoy life.”
What does this mean for each segment?
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “Thinking about your life overall, including your family, lifestyle, country, economy etc, what ONE WORD
would you use to best describe your MOOD right now? And why do you feel this way? n=5101 Free as a Bird N=1025 Family Flock n=1448 Empty Nesters n=463
Free as a Birds feel consistently
happy and feel free of too many
worries in their life. They’re positive because life is going well
for them at the moment, they feel happy,
work is going great and there’s nothing
going wrong right now. Many do worry a
little about their financial future especially
with the cost of housing.
“I have a great family, good friends, stable
work and financially supported by family if
anything were to happen.”
Family Flocks gain happiness
from their family but feel the pinch
from financial pressures.
They feel happy and grateful because
they have their family, job and health –
but they are more likely to feel strain from
the costs of living.
“Because I have my husband and my kids.
there is nothing in the world that beats that.”
Empty Nesters are the great
worriers and are being impacted
by interest rates.
Many Empty Nesters saw the change in
Prime Minister as a positive thing for the
country. However, they are still
concerned about their financial stability –
especially their eroding superannuation.
“Just returned from interstate holiday.
Renovating our house and enjoy babysitting
my grand children. Life is pretty good”
While the general feeling is one of positivity and contentment, there are still pressures when it comes to finances and security. So what are people worried about at the moment?
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “What is the biggest worry you have in your life right now? n=5101; “Do you think you are paid.....less than you should be” n=4006; “Do you think you will receive a
salary increase in the next 12 months?” n=4006
Money is the biggest worry for Australians at the moment.
Money, money, money – does
anyone ever think they have
enough? When we asked
people what their biggest worry
was at the moment, they
resoundingly said that it was
money.
With 56% of Australians believing
they’re paid less than what they should
be, perhaps wages are at the root of
this concern. With 1 in 3 people not
expecting a pay raise in the next 12
months, this worry will no doubt remain
(29% are not sure).
So besides money, what else has
Australians worried?
9% 9%
12% 13%
20% 21%
22% 24%
25%
29%
31%
34% 35%
Crime and
violence
Drugs
Availability
&
affordability
of energy
prices
Future
terrorist
attacks
Un-
employment Healthcare
Quality and
availability
of education
Illegal
immigration
Environ-
ment
Federal
spending &
budget
deficit
Affordability
&
availability
of childcare
Australian
economy
Worldwide
economy
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “How worried are you about the following things....?” Very Worried n=5101
Crime and violence is the top concern for Australians at the moment.
How worried are you about the following things?
Future
terrorist
attacks
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “How worried are you about the following things....?”
Very worried n=5101 Free as a Bird N=1025 Family Flock n=1448 Empty Nesters n=463
Stage of life and socioeconomic standing really seem to impact on what people are worried about.
Different stages of life influence what people are worried about.
Whilst crime and violence are a common worry, after that things change. Free as a Birds are worried about terrorist attacks as this may be seen as an
affront to the way of life they’ve always known. They are also concerned about unemployment (their future job prospects), the environment (the world
they’re going to live in) and drugs. Family Flocks are still concerned about the availability and affordability of energy as it impacts their hip pocket.
Empty Nesters on the other hand are information oriented so are effected by issues in the community that they see as impacting on the ‘greater good’.
24%
24%
25%
27%
30% Crime and violence
Unemployment
Future terrorist attacks
Environment
29%
29%
29%
35%
38%
Crime and violence
Availability & affordability
of energy
Drugs
27%
40%
45%
45%
49% Drugs
Crime and violence
Illegal immigration
Future terrorist attacks
Drugs
Illegal immigration
Future terrorist
attacks
Unemployment
The top 5 worries over the past two years fluctuate and further reinforce that people are influenced by issues that effect them within the home.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “How worried are you about the following things....?” Very Worried
June 2013 n=4066 . October n=1128 June 2014 n=1434 October 2014 n=1689 May 2015 N=2425 October 2015 n=5101
These five issues have consistently been the top worries for Australians across our two years of Mood Monitor reports. Each issue fluctuates depending
on current affairs and economic policy. However, only the issues that impact people’s hip pockets seem to influence their happiness and positivity.
Availability & affordability
of energy prices Crime & violence Healthcare Illegal immigration Unemployment
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, June 2013, October 2013, June 2014, October 2014, May 2015, October 2015 “What impact has the rising cost of ENERGY prices had on your household?” Major Impact June
2013 n=4063 October 2013 n=4056 June 2014 n=1422; October 2014 n=1689 Free as a Bird N=275 Family Flock n=403 Empty Nesters n=268; May 2015 N=2425 Free as a Bird N=548 Family Flock n=660 Empty Nesters
n=257 October 2015 N=5101 Free as a Bird N=1025 Family Flock n=1448 Empty Nesters n=463
Concerns over energy prices are abating, but they’re still having a major impact for 1 in 3 Family Flocks.
In each of our Mood Monitor reports over the past two years we have seen that Australians are quite concerned about
energy availability and prices.
However, in this study, energy prices were only in the top 5 concerns for Family Flocks – Free as a Birds and Empty Nesters were much less
concerned than they have been in the past. However, 1 in 3 people still believe that energy prices have had a ‘major impact’ on their household.
They remain a major issue for 1 in 3 Family Flocks as this segment continues to feel the most pressure with the costs of living.
The impact of grocery prices has risen slightly again but Family Flocks are feeling less pressure.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, June 2013, October 2013, June 2014, October 2014, May 2015, October 2015 “What impact has the rising cost of food prices had on your household?” Major,
moderate impact June 2013 n=4056 Family Flock n=1386; October 2013 n=1131 Family Flock n=288; June 2014 n=1422 Family Flock n=395; October 2014 n=1689 Family Flock n=403; May 2015 n=2425
Family Flock n=660, October 2015 n=5101 Family Flock n=1448
The impact of grocery prices lessened
over the past 15 months but have just
risen again.
Family Flocks are consistently impacted more
by grocery prices than the other segments.
However, this time around we see that grocery
prices are impacting them the least they have in
2.5 years.
Family flock All people
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Content Happy Optimistic Positive Concerned Frustrated Anxious Excited Pessimistic Angry
A word on Family Flocks.
Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, October 2015, “And just so we can narrow it down a little, from the following list, which word or
words best describes your mood at the moment?” Family Flock over $100k HH Income n=478 Under $100k HH Income n=556
Family Flocks that have a household income over $100k seem to be living a lot more comfortably than those
earning less – and this means they are generally more positive. The stress of financial worries seems to
bring out more negative moods for those with a household income less than $100k as these families feel
much more pressure from living costs such as food, energy and interest rates.
How are Family Flocks feeling right now? HH Income under $100k HH Income over $100k
Major impact
HH Income
under $100k
HH Income
over $100k
Major impact
HH Income
under $100k
HH Income
over $100k
Major impact
HH Income
under $100k
HH Income
over $100k
According to the Westpac-Melbourne Institute
Consumer Confidence Index, Australian consumer
confidence is at its highest level since May 2015.
Similarly our Mood Monitor has seen positivity scores
remain at the highest levels we have seen since
tracking began two years ago – and happiness levels
are at their highest ever.
As we have found in previous reports if Australians have the basics
covered – shelter, food, family and employment – then other
external worries are less likely to impact on their happiness. We
can see that this is again the case given the top worries are things
external to the home. Whilst money (or lack of it) is a universal
worry for all Australians, regardless of their socioeconomic
standing, crime and violence remains the key worry at the moment.
With a buoyant mood and increased consumer confidence, not to
mention an increase in business confidence, it should hopefully be
a pretty good Christmas for the economy. In fact, the Australian
Retailers Association is predicting Australians will spend in excess
of $46.7billion in retail stores this Christmas trading period – a 3.6%
increase from 2014. This should make plenty of people happy.
Source : http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/consumer-confidence; http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6554-businesses-swing-behind-turnbull-government-201511110540
Research methodology.
The results of this survey are “INDICITIVE” ONLY The survey was conducted by Southern Cross Austereo using its
online panel nationally.
The panel is obtained from our radio networks database under the
labels of ‘VIP’ on the hit Network and ‘Music Jury’ on the MMM
Network. All members of these databases would be considered
listeners to these stations.
The database contains about 260,000 members. Of these,
approximately 20,000 are a part of our online community.
The is split between the hit VIP database and the Triple M
database. Members of the entire database were asked to take part
in the study, and over 5101 did so.
Certain questions asked for an ‘essay’ or ‘verbatim’ type of
response OR brands/words that first came to mind.
A keyword search was used to sort and rank the responses to
these questions.
The results are an un-weighted sample, but are reflective of the Southern
Cross Austereo Austereo audience. SCA brands reach approximately 40% of
the 10+ population and approximately 46% of the 25-54 population in the five
metropolitan markets in Australia, suggesting it would be reasonable to
consider these results to be a fair if not fully balanced representation of the
opinions in these marketplaces.
Furthermore, as it is an online survey, the respondents would also be skewed
towards being ‘early adopters’ for technology, ‘trend setters’ in general and
likely to be a good early indication of brand leaders, trend setters and early
adopters in general.
These research surveys conducted by Austereo are done so to provide a
general understanding of the opinions, interests and attitudes of the
metropolitan marketplaces only.
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