Consumers have shed their dominant complacency.

Life poses many challenges, a large number of them outside our control. As a result, each of us finds ways to reduce the turmoil. We establish routines.

But, sometimes those circumstances beyond our control make us break our own conventions and look at things anew. We establish new attitudes and develop new behaviors to cope. When those new behaviors are acceptable, they become our new standard.

The state of our economy has forced behavioral changes on consumers from all socio-economic strata and, in turn, has created issues for marketers.

Utilizing our 100,000+ member consumer panel, Trone conducted a study among 3,186 adults regarding the U.S. economy. The study, a follow-up to similar research done in November, was fielded on President Obama’s 100th day in office. Many of the results, to say the least, were surprising.

Consumer’s general perceptions on the economy hasn’t changed.

On the key measures of the long-term effects of the economy, little has changed between November and now.

• The percentage of people who think it will take three or more years to return to our former levels of prosperity decreased from 64% to 61%.
• Those who anticipate depleting their savings or going further into debt in the coming year remains constant at 26%.
• Only a marginal shift from 52% to 53% was seen in the number of respondents who expect that they will have to defer their retirement a year or more.

In fact, overall concern about the economy has diminished significantly as 57% of the sample indicated they were extremely or very worried about the American economy, down from 68% just five and a half months ago. Somewhat surprisingly, given the decline in concern and the President’s high approval ratings, only 32% of the sample purported to be very or extremely confident that the administration was taking the right steps to stabilize the economy. Not at all surprising was this group’s split along partisan lines. Seventy-one percent of those with a high confidence level were Democrats while only 9% were Republicans. The remainder was made up of Independents (15%) and respondents who chose not to share their party affiliation.

Consumer behaviors have been much different than they projected five months ago.

The economy has affected people and they have taken even more drastic steps to protect their personal financial position than they anticipated they would in November.

Forty-seven percent of those surveyed reported that they or a member of their immediate family has seen their income directly impacted by the economic downturn. Twenty-three percent have experienced a layoff while another 18% and 24% respectively have been hit with a reduction in their salary or hourly wage or a reduction in hours.

In addition, 58% have seen one or more of these same phenomena effect friends or extended family members.

As a reaction, people are making drastic and potentially permanent behavioral changes. When asked in November about the likelihood that they would change brands to save money in key categories, 27% thought it likely in the products they buy for their children, 42% in the products they buy for themselves and 36% in their grocery brands. The realities were astonishingly different.

When asked in April if they had changed brands in those same categories, 63% admitted changing brands in products for their children, 75% in the products they buy for themselves and 76% in their grocery brands. In and of themselves these numbers are astounding, but they become even more remarkable when you appreciate how consumers feel about their brand “concessions.”

The brand changes are not viewed as “concessions” by many, and if they are, it is deemed an acceptable one given the cost benefit.  Thirty-two percent of the respondents think they’ll stay with very many or most of the new brands they’re buying for their children. Similar sentiments were expressed for the new brands they are buying for themselves (31%) and at the grocery store (37%).

So, the question for marketers is not just how the economic conditions are impacting their brands today, but how they’ll be affected in the future. Are you taking the right steps to fortify your brand franchise and forge new customer relationships? Or, is your brand one of the many that will be negatively and permanently damaged by this new consumer mindset?