Survey on Cost-Cutting Actions Amid Price Hikes: Over 80% Feel the Impact

Loyalty Marketing Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director and President: Fumihiko Katsu, hereinafter 'LM'), which operates the common points service 'Ponta (Ponta)', reports the results of a survey on 'Cost-Cutting Actions Amid Price Hikes' conducted with 1,000 people aged 20-69 (Survey Period: June 8, 2026 - June 15, 2026).

[Survey Results]

・TOPICS①

Over 80% feel the impact of price hikes. 63.0% of people in their 50s say 'very much'

・TOPICS②

About 60% are implementing cost-cutting measures. Top cost-cutting methods are 'using sales', 'choosing cheaper alternatives', and 'Ponta'

・TOPICS③

Expenses that are hard to cut even with cost-cutting are 'food' and 'electricity and gas bills' at about 50%

・TOPICS④

The main source of information about cost-cutting is 'television'. YouTube, Instagram, and X are notably used by younger generations

・TOPICS⑤

If there were no price hikes, people want to spend money on 'travel', 'dining out', and 'hobbies'

[Detailed Survey Results]

TOPICS①

Over 80% feel the impact of price hikes. 63.0% of people in their 50s say 'very much'

When asked about the extent to which they feel the impact of price hikes in their current lives, 51.3% said 'very much' and 32.1% said 'somewhat', totaling 83.4% who feel the impact of price hikes.

By age group, 'very much' was highest among those in their 50s at 63.0%, followed by those in their 60s at 57.0% and those in their 40s at 56.0%. Among those in their 40s and older, over half responded 'very much', indicating a strong sense of burden from price hikes among middle-aged and older generations.

Additionally, the items that people feel have increased the most in price were 'food' at 87.6%, followed by 'daily necessities' at 54.1%, 'dining out' at 51.8%, and 'electricity and gas bills' at 43.1%. It was found that many people feel the increase in prices for food, daily necessities, and utilities, which are essential for daily life.

▼To what extent do you feel the impact of price hikes in your current life? (n=1,000)(%)

▼By age group, to what extent do you feel the impact of price hikes in your current life?

(n=1,000 ※n=200 per age group)(%)

▼Items that people feel have increased the most in price (multiple answers) (n=961)(%)

*Excluding those who responded 'not at all' to the impact of price hikes

TOPICS②

About 60% are implementing cost-cutting measures. Top cost-cutting methods are 'using sales', 'choosing cheaper alternatives', and 'Ponta'

When asked if they are implementing cost-cutting measures in response to price hikes, 23.2% said 'actively' and 41.8% said 'somewhat', totaling 65.0% who are implementing cost-cutting measures.

Specific cost-cutting methods currently being implemented include 'using supermarket sales' at 48.5%, 'choosing cheaper products or alternatives' at 47.6%, 'actively engaging in Ponta' at 45.7%, 'using points or cashless payments' at 44.8%, and 'using coupons' at 44.4%. In addition to using sales and alternatives, the top methods also include using points, coupons, and cashless payments. It can be seen that people are not just reducing spending but also making 'smart purchases' in their daily shopping.

▼To what extent are you implementing cost-cutting measures in response to price hikes? (n=1,000)(%)

▼Top 10 specific cost-cutting methods currently being implemented (multiple answers possible) (n=945)(%)

*Excluding those who responded 'not implementing any cost-cutting measures' regarding the situation of cost-cutting due to price hikes

TOPICS③

Expenses that are hard to cut even with cost-cutting are 'food' and 'electricity and gas bills' at about 50%

When asked about items that are hard to cut even with cost-cutting among those currently implementing cost-cutting measures, 'food' was the highest at 56.2%. This was followed by 'electricity and gas bills' at 50.1%, 'water bills' at 35.4%, and 'gasoline expenses' at 33.1%. It can be seen that cost-cutting alone may not be sufficient for essential living expenses.

On the other hand, 'hobby and entertainment expenses' were at 11.3%, 'travel expenses (transportation)' at 9.1%, 'travel expenses (accommodation)' at 8.8%, and 'subscription services' at 3.3%.

▼Items that are hard to cut even with cost-cutting (multiple answers) (n=853)(%)

*Excluding those who responded 'not implementing any specific cost-cutting measures' regarding specific cost-cutting methods currently being implemented

TOPICS④

The main source of information about cost-cutting is 'television'. YouTube, Instagram, and X are notably used by younger generations

When asked about the main sources of information about cost-cutting, 'television' was the highest at 51.2%. This was followed by 'news sites' at 35.9%, 'YouTube' at 24.0%, and 'family and friends' at 22.9%.

Looking at the usage of digital media and generative AI by age group, the usage rate of SNS and video services such as YouTube, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) is high among those in their 20s and 30s.

Regarding the percentage of people obtaining cost-cutting information from generative AI, it was 4.2% overall, but the highest was among those in their 30s at 7.4%, followed by those in their 20s and 40s at approximately 5-6%. On the other hand, those in their 50s and 60s remained in the 1% range.

▼Main sources of information about cost-cutting (multiple answers) (n=853)(%)

*Excluding those who responded 'not implementing any specific cost-cutting measures' regarding specific cost-cutting methods currently being implemented

▼By age group, main sources of information about cost-cutting (digital media and generative AI excerpt) (multiple answers) (n=853)(%)

*Excluding those who responded 'not implementing any specific cost-cutting measures' regarding specific cost-cutting methods currently being implemented

*The shading in the table indicates the high and low response rates. The darker the color, the higher the response rate.

TOPICS⑤

If there were no price hikes, people want to spend money on 'travel', 'dining out', and 'hobbies'

When asked about what they really want to do or spend money on if there were no impact from price hikes, keywords related to travel such as 'overseas travel', 'domestic travel', 'family travel', and 'hot spring travel' were the most frequently mentioned. Other responses included 'dining out', 'hobbies', 'investment', and 'savings'. While awareness of cost-cutting and life protection is increasing due to price hikes, it can be seen that there are people who want to spend money on travel, dining out, and hobbies.

▼If there were no impact from price hikes, what do you really want to do or spend money on? (free response) (n=1,000)(%)

*Analyzed using UserLocal text mining

*Displayed using WordCloud (allows understanding of words with high frequency of occurrence). The size of the characters indicates the frequency of occurrence, and the color of the words indicates that blue is a noun, red is a verb, and green is an adjective

[Survey Overview]

Survey Method

Internet survey

Survey Period

June 8, 2026 - June 15, 2026

Panel

'Ponta Research' members

(Members who have registered as members of 'Ponta Research' among Ponta members)

Survey Target

Domestic residents aged 20-60

Number of Valid Responses

1,000 ※100 samples collected per gender and age group

*Survey results are rounded to the nearest second decimal place

[Reference]

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