Consumer sentiment ticked down a pinch, current conditions took a hit (gas pump economics).
\n\n\nAbout one-third of consumers spontaneously mentioned gasoline prices and about 30% mentioned tariffs. Taken together, consumers continue to feel buffeted by cost pressures, led by soaring prices at the pump. Middle East developments are unlikely to meaningfully boost sentiment until supply disruptions have been fully resolved and energy prices fall.
\n
Speaking of inflation:
\n\n\ncurrent reading still substantially exceeds the 3.4% reading seen in February prior to the start of the Iran war,
\n
⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2026-05-08T16:44:20-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2026/05/08/consumer-sentiment-ticked-down-a.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro","Gas Pump Economics"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2026/05/07/only-a-increase-in-gas.html", "content_html": "Only a $0.258 increase in gas prices since this time last week, slipping in under the back-to-back $0.30 mark.
\nFun with extrapolation: at this rate we’re looking at $5.00 / gallon gas prices in time for Memorial Day weekend.
\n⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2026-05-07T10:28:59-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2026/05/07/only-a-increase-in-gas.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro","Gas Pump Economics"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2026/05/04/on-aaa-posted-this-headline.html", "content_html": "On 4/30, AAA posted this headline: Oil Prices Spike, National Average Up Nearly 30 Cents in One Week
\nThe national average (for regular) was then pegged at $4.300.
\nToday (5/4), the national average is $4.457. This headline might get recycled this week.
\nThis is Ozempic for wallets.
\n⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2026-05-04T10:36:35-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2026/05/04/on-aaa-posted-this-headline.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro","Gas Pump Economics"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2026/04/28/consumers-were-a-wee-bit.html", "content_html": "Consumers were a wee bit more confident to start April, but that might be because they thought the conflict in the Middle East was winding down. As it’s clear high gas prices are putting a damper on the “present situation.”
\n\n\nConsumers’ write-in responses on factors affecting the economy continued to skew towards pessimism in April. Comments about prices, oil and gas, and war increased in frequency compared to March—a likely signal of consumers’ underlying worries about how the war in the Middle East will impact their pockets.
\n
⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2026-04-28T15:34:04-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2026/04/28/consumers-were-a-wee-bit.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2026/04/03/gas-pump-economics.html", "title": "Gas Pump Economics", "content_html": "What happens when a vibecession meets an oil cliff?
\nWe might be about to find out.
\n\n\n\nThe world will be short some 350 million barrels of jet fuel and other refined crude products by the end of April
\nCompounding supply losses are pushing the world toward an “oil cliff” come April 19
\naverage airfare over the past week was $465, up about 25% year-over-year and at least a seven-year high.
\n
\n\nAmazon is adding a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge for third-party sellers in the U.S. and Canada.
\n“Elevated costs in fulfillment and logistics have increased the cost of operating across the industry,” Amazon wrote. “We have absorbed these increased costs so far. However, similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing.”
\n
The gas pump is one of the clearest indicators for consumers. Shoppers only feel as rich as their bank account balance, inflation and rising fuel prices eat away at that faster than they’d like.
\nThe summer travel market could be in for a big hit. And if / when shipping increases get passed through to shoppers, it could be an austere summer.
\nMemorial Day could be sluggish, or it could explode is shoppers enter deal seeking mode and wait for holiday discounts.
\n⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2026-04-03T13:54:36-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2026/04/03/gas-pump-economics.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2026/03/31/compared-to-february-consumers-are.html", "content_html": "Compared to February, consumers are now more confident about current conditions. Or sentiment is down.
\nOne story is the same across both surveys, expectations are trending down.
\nTrickle down economics does exist, when the trickle is starting with the slot machine spinning at the gas pump.
\n⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-31T14:17:37-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2026/03/31/compared-to-february-consumers-are.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2026/03/16/umichs-survey-of-consumers-showed.html", "content_html": "UMich’s survey of consumers showed sentiment dropped, specifically post-Iran action. Before that the vibe was looking up.
\nI think this read from Northbeam captures it:
\n\n\nThe vibes are in free fall. Conflict with Iran keeps spiraling, gas prices are about to explode, and the US lost 92,000 jobs in February, with more likely to come.
\n
People have a visceral response to the numbers they see on the gas pump, and right now those numbers aren’t causing positive reactions. Shoppers now have less money to spend on discretionary purchases.
\nThe vibecession continues.
\n⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2026-03-16T16:13:16-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2026/03/16/umichs-survey-of-consumers-showed.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro","Gas Pump Economics"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2026/02/24/umichs-survey-of-consumers-tells.html", "content_html": "UMich’s Survey of Consumers tells a slightly different story, February was basically the same as January.
\nWallets are still feeling squeezed:
\n\n\nAbout 46% of consumers spontaneously mentioned high prices eroding their personal finances; readings have exceeded 40% for seven months in a row.
\n
The K-shaped economy continues to capitalize:
\n\n\nwealthier and higher-income consumers feel better insulated from any possible risks to the economy.
\n
🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2026-02-24T15:36:00-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2026/02/24/umichs-survey-of-consumers-tells.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2025/10/01/a-sharp-deterioration-in-consumers.html", "content_html": "A sharp deterioration in consumers’ views of the current economic situation weighed on confidence
\n😬
\nPresent situation vibes dropped 7 points .
\nExpectations dipped (again) and have now been below 80 (the unofficial recession signal) since February (maybe giving credence to the rolling recession hypothesis?).
\n\n\nConsumers’ write-in responses showed that references to prices and inflation rose in September, regaining its top position as the main topic influencing consumers’ views of the economy.
\n
🗺️
\n![](\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/116488/2025/3236667f49.png\")
\n",
"date_published": "2025-10-01T08:16:42-04:00",
"url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2025/10/01/a-sharp-deterioration-in-consumers.html",
"tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro"]
},
{
"id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2025/04/18/some-good-news-buried-in.html",
"content_html": "Some good news buried in all the tariff whiplash
\nThe CPI dropped 0.1% in March (gas dropped 6.3%)
\nAll items less food and energy is the lowest it’s been since 2021
\nThe Fed’s not celebrating though
\nFrom the recent meeting:
\n\n\nparticipants remarked that uncertainty about the net effect of an array of government policies on the economic outlook was high, making it appropriate to take a cautious approach. Emphasizing that uncertainty, a majority of participants noted the potential for inflationary effects arising from various factors to be more persistent than they projected.
\n
⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2025-04-18T15:29:53-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2025/04/18/some-good-news-buried-in.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro","Gas Pump Economics"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2024/07/04/good-news-fourth.html", "content_html": "Good news:
\nFourth of July gas prices are set for a three-year low
\n\n\nAdjusted for inflation, US gas prices are almost exactly where they were in July 2018, according to federal data.
\n
Bad news:
\n\n\n\nrecord high: 5% more than last year and 30% higher than in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.
\nThe biggest driver of the pricier supermarket bills will be the cost of meat, which accounts for about half the total cost.
\n
Maybe double up on beans?
\n⛽️🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2024-07-04T16:42:24-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2024/07/04/good-news-fourth.html", "tags": ["Trends \u0026 Macro","Gas Pump Economics"] }, { "id": "http://curiousmarketersclub.micro.blog/2020/02/28/tech-and-marketing-trends-distilled.html", "title": "2020 Tech and Marketing Trends Distilled", "content_html": "It’s a new year, a new decade(?), so you know what that means: it’s trend time! We dusted off our crystal ball (not to be confused with our Cristal Ball) and took a peek at the future of marketing. Here’s what we saw (actual footage above).
\nIt’s been a rough time for platforms, fire hose marketers, and data vacuums lately. Enough scandals have piled up that users seem legitimately interested in their privacy and data security. A mix of regulations, technical changes at the browser level, and ad blocker use is going to make it more difficult to track users around the web and will shake up the current status quo.
\nHow should you adapt? Provide value and service via your marketing. It’s about messaging transparently, having people opt in to your movement, and providing value to them through content. Or, it’s the opposite of spam. Treat your marketing and messaging as an invitation, not an offer they can’t refuse.
\nThese changes, in tandem with some device trends, could mean it’s time to start thinking beyond the screens. Eyeballs are so 2010s.
\nWhat will replace our love affair with screens? Robots! (we are contractually obligated to mention robots at least once per quarter)
\nImprovements in voice assistants and chatbots, machine learning capabilities (especially on consumer devices), and devices like smartwatches and headphones becoming increasingly robust could lead to a shift from screens to a more ambient form of technology. Like Radio 2.0: now with screens too!
\nIn the more immediate future, we should have a growing number of toys that utilize machine intelligence to give us more ways to automate different tasks, both internally and externally.
\nAnother trend arising from the shine fading from social media and similar algorithms? The growth of “dark forests”. Sounds ominous, right? It’s not, it’s just a fancy term for mediums like email newsletters, podcasts, private groups, and other non-broadcast messaging platforms. People increasingly want the information they’re interested in waiting for them when they’re ready versus bombarding them, and usually without a comment stream of sadness attached. They want community, not trolls with megaphones.
\nDoes this mean social media is dead? No, but it is changing. Or at least we need to change our approach to it, especially as organic reach continues to decline. Approach these as focused content and story platforms more than broader social connecting.
\nYou know what is in your control? Your brand, story, and the content you create. Yes, your brand and story can change and transform once they hit the public domain, but it is still your brand. Tools and tactics change over time but the strength of content and stories endures. Craft your anthem and build a storytelling platform around it, with a focus on the channels you own.
\nGone are the days of the monoculture and the cultural moment. That one thing we all watch or hear. Our approach to marketing needs to reflect this reality. Customers move through a series of micro-moments in which we can message them, small windows of opportunity to catch their attention. These moments typically occur as they’re exploring on mobile, avoiding ads, in control, and expect to be able to act with the touch of a button. You have to utilize the other trends above to craft and deliver messaging that fit these moments and start a conversation.
\nTrends 2020 Distilled: Respect your customers. Own your channels. Tell your story.
\nWhat do you think we should expect in the future?
\noriginally posted on the Blue Ion blog
\n🗺️
\n", "date_published": "2020-02-28T13:30:00-04:00", "url": "https://curiousmarketers.club/2020/02/28/tech-and-marketing-trends-distilled.html", "tags": ["Ambient Computing \u0026 Devices","Trends \u0026 Macro"] } ] }