Crime concern isn’t just a theoretical position for the American consumer; it correlates with measurable, behavioral differences as to how and where they choose to shop. CivicScience is constantly tracking crime concern, and last year reported on how it impacts different news and media consumers.
According to the latest CivicScience data, crime concern has been increasing since the start of 2023, with those reporting the highest level of concern increasing three percentage points from January to May. Concern levels previously ballooned to their highest level in the past two years last June, and the figures through May are approaching similar levels.
People who have not shopped in stores in the last three months are three percentage points more likely to report being ‘very concerned’ about crime than those who have shopped in-store. But among urban residents, the gap widens even more – those who haven’t shopped in stores in the last three months are much more likely to be ‘very concerned’ about crime or exhibit any level of concern at all.
Data also show a noticeable decline in the percentage of urban, as well as rural, in-store shoppers compared to spring 2022. On the other hand, in-store shopping slightly increased among suburban shoppers.
Taken together: American crime concern is increasing once again, and this stands to impact comfort shopping in-stores – particularly among urban residents concerned about crime at the highest levels. CivicScience will continue tracking all these trends, but get in touch if you’d like more consumer insights before we publish our findings.
