The December 2022 American Maru Household Outlook (MHOI) Index is at 83* (negative/pessimistic), up three points from last month.

A new GZERO/ Maru Public Opinion poll finds a majority (57%) of Americans believe it’s time the US government increased its regulatory powers and penalties over the owners of social media companies and their platforms to put a stop to hate speech appearing on their platform because, despite all the talk from the owners, it’s apparent they can’t or won’t do it themselves.

A new Maru Public Opinion poll released today finds that with Christmas and the seasonal holidays bearing down on Americans, the vast majority still have a lot of intended shopping to do.

While just one in ten (9%) claim they are done with nothing left in their total gift-giving budget for 2022, and three in ten (29%) reveal they’ve not yet spent any of their budgets, the average American consumer still has 71.9% of the total gift-giving budget to spend.

A new GZERO/ Maru Public Opinion poll released today finds that consumer spending may be less for this year's Christmas/holiday season than a year ago, and those lighter wallets are primarily due to inflation. Even though one in five (19%) Americans indicate spending more this holiday season than last year, three in ten (27%) say they will be spending less.

A new Yahoo US/ Maru Public Opinion poll released today probes Americans and their views about a potential recession and employed Americans regarding their sense of job security should a recession occur.

A recession is marked by a six-month decline in economic activity—where consumers stop spending, which causes sales to drop, businesses to cut costs and reduce prices, postpone new investments, and start laying off people.

The American Maru Household Outlook Index (“MHOI”) is at 86 (which is negative/pessimistic under the index base of 100), down one point from last month’s measure of 87. This is still well below its most recent highest mark recorded in May 2021 when it topped 103 (which is positive/optimistic with anything over the index base of 100). Gap scores are computed by simply subtracting the negative from the positive results.

A new Maru Public Opinion survey released today finds that mainstream media sources still dominate where Americans who follow the news (86%) get their daily fill—but not surprisingly, of the twenty-three daily consulted news sources measured, their utilization varies significantly by age group. The results and accompanying charts were made available to coincide with World News Day 2022, a global campaign to amplify the power and impact of fact-based journalism.

A new Yahoo USA/ Maru Public Opinion survey released today finds two-thirds (62%) of Americans admitting that they’re shopping less in stores nowadays than before the pandemic began in March 2020. And if given a choice, just half (53%) of American consumers prefer to wander the aisles and purchase items off-the-shelf compared to a significant minority (44%) who would prefer to do their shopping online.

A new Yahoo USA/ Maru Public Opinion survey finds inflation is impacting nine in ten (88%) parents who are spending to get their students ready for either elementary, middle, or secondary school this fall. The study also revealed that four-in-ten (41%) parents are spending more this year for their young students to be prepared for school compared to last year, while a fraction (9%) say they’re spending proportionately less.

A new USA Yahoo/ Maru Public Opinion survey released today finds that more Americans (60%) tightened their belts and reduced spending in July versus June, with restaurant food, entertainment, clothing and footwear, and groceries bearing the brunt of the cutbacks.

A new Yahoo US/ Maru Public Opinion poll released today finds no consensus among Americans on the biggest culprit source driving today’s inflationary price escalations. And while majorities believe that both President Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve each have a plan to fight inflation and bring prices down, Americans are split on whether either of those plans is “good” or “bad” for what ails the economy.

A new Maru Public Opinion survey released today to commemorate World Chocolate Day finds that (72%) of Americans consume chocolate weekly. When compared to their sweet-toothed counterparts, Americans are nestled between their much higher United Kingdom (77%) aficionados' but still ahead of their next-door Canadian (66%) friends.

A new Maru Public Opinion poll released today finds a majority (58%) of Americans are worried about inflation causing them some serious money issues. Another one in ten (12%) Americans admit to being “panicked as inflation is causing drastic lifestyle changes/trade-offs,” with the remaining three in ten (30%) at the other end of the scale feeling “comfortable as inflation is not having an impact” on them.

A new Yahoo US/Maru Public Opinion poll finds two-thirds of the vast majority (81%) of Americans believe that the country is either already in (62%) a recession or that one is on the horizon in the next three months (19%). Further, while half (53%) of Americans say they have personally set stricter priorities and reduced their spending in the last month, underpinning all of this economic and pocketbook pessimism is the majority (72%) who believe the economy is headed in the wrong direction.

A new Yahoo US/Maru Public Opinion survey released today finds that two-thirds (62%) of Americans plan to take a vacation this summer, and the vast majority (84%) will do so in the United States as opposed to out of the country (16%).

And, despite record-high prices at the gas pumps, a majority (65%) of America’s vacationers will be driving to and from their destination. Of eight possible vacation experiences to choose from, those at the top of the list are a road trip (20%), followed by one that’s strictly for kids and family (17%), one that’s about being immersed in culture (14%), and another that’s all about outdoor living (14%).

A Yahoo/Maru Public Opinion survey released today finds that two-thirds (66%) of American vehicle owners/households have made, or will make, significant changes to their driving/vehicle use habits if the price at the gas pumps escalates from the national average of $4.12 to $4.35 per gallon. In contrast, the remaining group (34%) will not likely change their driving/vehicle use habits until the price is approximately $5.00 per gallon.

Maru Public Opinion released the results today of a survey conducted for the American City Business Journals (ACBJ) that reveals the meat and potatoes impact of the sharply rising cost of living across the US: a majority (59%) of Americans who say the cost of groceries is rising so much they’re having to cut back to just the necessities and half (51%) indicate they are having to buy less food nowadays for their family because prices are increasing faster than their income.

In fact, the rise in the cost of living is witnessed by the fact that half (51%) of Americans say they’ve really cut back on purchasing red meat because of the high price, not because they are avoiding it, and even four-in-ten (37%) admit to searching out meat with an in-store percentage discount sticker because its “best before date” expires that day.

Maru Public Opinion released the results today of a survey conducted on behalf of ClearEstate that finds of those who have a will (41%), nine-in-ten (90%) have appointed a person in their immediate or extended family to act as the executer of their estate—often an unknown and challenging burden until they’re needed.

New York, March 15, 2022—Maru Public Opinion released the results today of a survey that finds a vast majority (82%) of Americans in support of President Joe Biden’s decision to ban the importation of Russian oil to the United States—and of the countries that could be used to replace that oil, two-thirds favor Canada (64%) over Mexico (16%), Venezuela (10%), and Saudi Arabia (10%).

With the U.S. ban on Russian oil as a backdrop, a majority (71%) also favor President Biden giving an executive order to green light the restart of the building of the Keystone XL pipeline that would transport oil from Canada’s oil sands region through the Midwest to refineries in Texas.

Maru Public Opinion released the results today of a survey conducted for the American City Business Journals (ACBJ). It finds Americans believe the top two reasons behind recent gas pump price increases are a tightening world supply because of international events (32%) and petroleum/gas companies who are just hiking pump costs for greater profit-taking (21%). The survey also reveals that most (45%) Americans think those higher gas pump prices are here to stay and might even get higher, compared with one-third (35%) who say pump prices will stabilize and drop back down to a more reasonable level (20% don’t know where prices will end up.)

While a total of half (48%) of all drivers may be mulling over a fully electric powered or hybrid (electricity/gas) vehicle for their next four-wheel purchase, it’s roughly one-in-six (18%) who appear to be the most serious about visiting a dealership to do the deal.