J u n e2 0 1 8

Generation X is typically defined as those born between 1965 –

1979, meaning they’re now in their late 30s to 50s.

Here we look at GenXers in metro and regional areas of Australia

and identify any key differences.

Sample is sourced from the Hit and Triple M databases (metro &

regional) along with TEG Rewards for Metro markets.

G E N XB o r n b e t w e e n 1 9 6 5 - 1 9 7 9

H o w a r e G e n X e r s f e e l i n g r i g h t n o w ?

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018, “Thinking about your life overall, including your family, lifestyle, country, economy etc, what ONE WORD would you use to best describe

your MOOD right now?” UNPROMPTED Positivity scores calculated by determining percentage of positive moods from the total. N=840 Metro N=605 Regional N=235.

Overall 42% of the GenX group

around Australia are feeling positive.

4 3 % o f t h e M e t r o G e n X g r o u p a n d 3 9 % o f t h e

R e g i o n a l G e n X g r o u p a r e f e e l i n g p o s i t i v e

Metro GenXer’s are feeling slightly more positive about their life right compared with Regional GenX

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018, “And why do you feel this way?” Metro N=188 Regional N=105.

21%

17%

9%

6%

22% 22%

9%

6%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

FAMILY WORK HEALTHY LOVE

KE

Y

Metro GenX Regional GenXT o p 5 t h i n g s m a k i n g t h e m f e e l ‘ h a p p y ’

Family is critical to a sense of happiness for GenX, with Regional reporting work just as high, and much more so than Metro.

I have a great work/life balance.R E G I O N A L G E N X

Working all day in the sunshine.R E G I O N A L G E N X

My life is great, I love where I live, work & play & my partner is a gem.

R E G I O N A L G E N X

It seems many Regional GenXer’s have their

work/life balance sorted and view their workplace

as their community where they enjoy their time and

the stress is less than their Metro peers.

30%

26%24% 23% 23%

20%19%

8%

5% 5%

29%

36%

26% 26%23%

28% 27%

5%

11%

4%

Content Happy Concerned Anxious Frustrated Optimistic Positive Pessimistic Excited Angry

H o w a r e G e n X f e e l i n g r i g h t n o w ?

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “And just so we can narrow it down a little, from the following list, which words best describe your mood at the

moment?” (multi choice question) , N=1012 Metro N=717 Regional N=295.

KE

Y

Metro GenX Regional GenX

Similar to Millennials, this survey we are seeing happiness decrease and feelings of anxiety creep up (particularly for Regional).

As we’ll see further in this presentation, cost of living financial strains are being felt more acutely by Regional, likely contributing to this mood shift. Around 60% of GenXer’s have children under 18 years at

home (similar rate amongst country and city), placing pressure on the family budget when the cost of groceries, fuel and utilities rise against a flat wage growth.

Feeling like I've got things under control. Things could be better, but they could be worse so I'm

happy to be where I am.M E T R O G E N X

Happiness and optimism runs through the veins of Regional GenX much more so than Metro GenX… however they are still feeling the pressure of living with concern and anxiety increasing

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “What is the biggest worry you have in your life right now? (verbatim question), UNPROMPTED N=1012 Metro N=717 Regional N=295.

Whilst worrying about their financial position is the key concern for GenX, it is slightly higher for country

residents. Housing may be cheaper in regional towns, but the cost of living is often more expensive.

What comes in second place is flipped for the two groups, the pressure of work for Metro, and the worry about

family members for Regional.

Metro GenX Regional GenX

5%

10%

14%

17%

33%

FUTURE

HEALTH

FAMILY

WORK

MONEY

5%

10%

14%

23%

39%

LIFE

HEALTH

WORK

FAMILY

MONEY

Money is the top worry when GenX were asked unprompted, with family and work worries differing for country and city

8%12%11%

18%19%

26%

19%

31%

26%

31%

39%38%40%

35%

7%7%9%12%

18%19%19%20%22%23%

25%

31%31%34%

HealthcareIllegal

immigration

Future

Terrorist

AttacksEducation

Crime &

ViolenceEnergy Environment

Federal

Spending &

Budget

Deficit

Affordability

&

Availability

of Childcare

Unemploy-

ment

Worldwide

EconomyAustralian

EconomyHousing

AffordabilityDrugs

H o w w o r r i e d a r e y o u a b o u t t h e f o l l o w i n g t h i n g s ?

Regional GenXer’s appear to have a lot more on their plate of worries for them, their family and their community with many societal issues being top worries much more

than for city GenXers: crime & violence, drugs and illegal immigration. It is reported that drugs are generally are more wide-spread concern in regional towns than the city

and with that comes crime. With around 60% of GenX having children under 18 years, it’s little wonder GenX worry about how these problems are impacting their kids.

The price pain and availability of education, childcare and energy is also felt more strongly by Regional GenX than Metro GenX. Housing affordability is the key concern

for Metro and remains in the top list for Regional, which may refer to a range of specifics from paying off a mortgage, to raising sufficient funds for a deposit, through to

paying the weekly rent.

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “How worried are you about the following things....?” Very worried, N=1012 Metro N=717 Regional N=295.

KE

Y

Metro GenX Regional GenX

Regional GenX have more issues they are ‘very worried’ about than Metro GenX

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “Are you planning on doing any of the following sometime in the next 6 months?” N=1012 Metro N=717 Regional N=295.

Although they may have other financial commitments, GenXers are still putting travel plans in

place… a holiday, visiting family and friends or work trip within Australia most likely, and with

some planning an international getaway.

Will travel domestically in the next 6M 43%

Metro GenX

36%

Regional GenX

Will travel internationally in the next 6M 27% 16%

New Internet and phone plans are on the list of ‘to dos’ in the next six months for around 1 in 10

Metro GenXer’s and 7% of Regional GenXer’s. Buying furniture for the home is more likely for city

GenX than country GenX.

Home Enter ta inmentFurn i tu re

Trave l

Sign up to a mobile phone plan in the next 6M 11%

Metro GenX

7%

Regional GenX

Sign up to a new Internet plan in the next 6M 10% 7%

Buy a new TV for the home in the next 6M 8% 5%

Buy new furniture for the home in the next 6M 17% 9%

Travel is on the agenda for GenX in the next six months, as is spending on home entertainment and furniture

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study May 2018, “Thinking about your spending over the next 6 months, do you think you’ll spend more/same/less than you

usually do on each of these?” ; “And are you planning on doing any of the following sometime in the next 6 months?” N=1012 Metro N=717 Regional N=295.

Regional GenX seem to by and large, be content with sticking to their current insurance policies and

providers (are they content or feel it’s too difficult to reassess?) however this is not so much for Metro

GenX with around 1 in 5 looking to do the research and consider switching in the next six months.

Reassess their bank

Reassess their vehicle insurance

Reassess their home/ contents insurance 20%

Metro GenX

14%

Regional GenX

19%

21%

15%

16%

Reassess their health insurance 21% 14%

W i l l d o i n t h e n e x t 6 m o n t h s …

Metro GenX are on the hunt for a better insurance or bank deal in the next six months

AVERAGE 3% 4%

STABLE

POOR

OK 16%

GOOD 8%

Metro GenX

11%

6%

Regional GenX

4%

4%

4%

6%

COMFORTABLE 5% 3%

W h a t O N E W O R D w o u l d y o u u s e t o d e s c r i b e y o u r m o o d t o w a r d s y o u r F I N A N C I A L P O S I T I O N ?

U N P R O M P T E D

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “Now thinking specifically about a few areas of your life, what ONE WORD would you use to describe your mood towards these?”

FINANCIAL POSITION - UNPROMPTED. Metro N=717 Regional N=295

GenX are most likely to describe their financial position as ‘ok’ but there were many positive and negative words used, with regional more likely to be ‘poor’ and ‘struggling’

STRUGGLING WAS AT

5% FOR REGIONAL AND

3% FOR METRO

We are seeing Regional GenX struggling a little more than

their Metro peers financially, however in terms of decision to

make with a spare $1,000 cash, they are about even in their

distribution of a theoretic windfall. Just over half would go

towards debt repayments, whilst around 1 in 5 of the dollars

would be spent.

It’s interesting to note that while country GenX are more likely

to say they have no spare cash and that they never have

enough money, they are not more likely to pay off debt than

city GenX. They might be watching their pennies more, but

they’re wallet is still open.

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “From time to time, people may have some spare money above their usual needs because of savings or a tax return for

example. Assuming you had a spare $1000 right now, how much of that $1000 do you think you would use in these three ways - saving or investing for the future; spending; and

paying off existing loans, credit cards or mortgage?” “How do you feel about the following statements?” N=718 Metro N=424 Regional N=294.

Financially speaking, every week is a struggle 40% 48%

Never seem to have enough money these days

Manage to meet all their expenses but there’s

not really anything left over

Feel like they have no spare cash lately 69%

Feel financially stable at the moment 30%

Metro GenX

78%

29%

Regional GenX

65%

67%

72%

66%

Have enough money to buy the things they want 20% 17%

W h a t w o u l d y o u d o w i t h a

d i s c r e t i o n a r y $ 1 0 0 0 ?

Average amount that would be spent, saved/invested or used to pay off debt

Save or invest $243

Pay off debt $564

Metro

$230

$569

Regional

Spend $193 $202

Financial pressure is being felt more greatly now than this time last year, particularly for Regional GenX

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “What impact has the rising cost of FOOD prices had on your household?”; “What impact has the rising cost of ENERGY prices had on

your household?”; “If INTEREST RATES were to increase tomorrow, what impact would that have on your household?” Major/moderate impact N=1012 Metro N=717 Regional N=295

Grocery prices are having a smaller impact on GenX this survey Vs this

time last year, however Regional GenX have reported a larger impact

this time for energy prices and if the interest rate rose.

Overall, many of this generation are finding the rising cost of living (for

food and energy and potential interest rates) a burden on their family

budget and are finding it’s something they struggle to absorb without

forgoing something else.

I m p a c t o f F o o d , E n e r g y & I n t e r e s t R a t e s( M a j o r o r M o d e r a t e i m p a c t )

60%

71%

52%

75%

85%

58%

FOOD

PRICES

ENERGY

PRICESINTEREST RATE

INCREASE

KE

Y

Metro GenX Regional GenX

Rising energy prices being impacting GenX the most, particularly in the country

I am going to put more money into savings

in the next 12 months

Feel confident that I will not lose my job

in the next few months62%

I think I will be better off financially

in the second half of 201833%

Metro GenX

60%

25%

Regional GenX

37% 33%

Would like to save money,

but don’t get paid enough62% 67%

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “How do you feel about the following statements?” Total Agree. Metro n=424 Regional n=294.

“Feel confident…” and “Better off financially…” Total Agree. Metro n=717 Regional n=295

More GenX than not feel secure in their job, a confidence

rate around the same for both country and city, whilst 1 in 3

Metro GenX think they money is on the up for the rest of

2018 and for Regional GenX the same is felt by 1 in 4.

Many would like to put more dollars into savings but their

income simply doesn’t allow for this.

More GenX feel financially confident than not, looking forward towards the rest of 2018

43%

15%

10%7%

5%3% 3% 2% 2% 2%

42%

15% 14%

7%

1%

5%

1% 1% 2%4%

HOLIDAY HOUSE VEHICLE RENOVATIONS PAY OFF DEBT ITEMS KIDS BABY BIRTHDAY LIVING /RAINY DAY

Both country and city GenX are equally saving for something at the moment, and most think they will achieve

their savings goal within the year. Holidays are top of the wish list, well above the second most popular savings

choice of a house for Metro and house/vehicle for Regional.

Metro are five times more likely to be saving towards paying off debt than Regional, whilst Regional are more

likely to be saving towards buying specific items such as an iPad, new mobile phone of furniture.

A r e t h e y s a v i n g f o r s o m e t h i n g i n p a r t i c u l a r a t t h e m o m e n t ?

KE

Y

Metro GenX Regional GenX

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, May 2018 “Are you saving for something in particular at the moment? If so, what is it?”; “And when do

you think you will have saved enough for that? N=338 Metro N=202 Regional N=136

Metro GenX Regional GenX

56% - believe it will take

them a year or less to

achieve their saving goal

60% - believe it will take

them a year or less to

achieve their saving goal

45%are saving for

something

46%are saving for

something

Close to 1 in 2 GenXer’s are saving for something

Whilst there are many similarities between GenXers in Metro

and Regional areas, there are also some key differences.

Regional GenX seem to be happier and more optimistic than Metro GenX, although they continue to

worry more about personal and community issues such as housing affordability, energy prices, through to

crime and drugs.

City GenX report to be slightly more financially stable than country GenX, however both groups equally

feel secure in their jobs, with enough confidence to put money aside to save for something.

1 in 3 Metro residents feel their financial situation will get better in the latter half of 2018 and the same

sentiment goes for 1 in 4 Regional residents.

These differences should be important for any advertisers trying to target the GenX demographic. Mood

and outlook on life differs in different regions, which may impact on responsiveness to creative

executions and likelihood to spend.

The results of this survey are “INDICATIVE” ONLY

The survey was conducted by Southern Cross Austereo using its

online panel nationally.

The panel is obtained from our radio networks database under

the labels of ‘Hit VIP’ on the HIT Network and ‘The Club’ on the

MMM Network. All members of these databases would be

considered listeners to these stations.

The database contains about 200,000 members.

This is split between the Hit database and the Triple M database.

Of these members, approximately 20,000 people were invited to

be part of our Insights panel community. This survey recruited

members from our community panel in metro and regional areas.

Approximately 867 completed the study.

Additionally, sample was recruited from our partners TEG

Rewards, in metro locations. Over 615 completed the study, for a

total study completion of 1,482.

Various filters have been placed over the data at different times.

Certain questions asked for an ‘essay’ or ‘verbatim’ type of response OR

brands/words that first came to mind.

A keyword search was used to sort and rank the responses to these

questions.

The results are an un-weighted sample, but are reflective of the Southern

Cross Austereo Austereo audience. SCA brands reach approximately 40%

of the 10+ population and approximately 46% of the 25-54 population in the

five metropolitan markets in Australia, suggesting it would be reasonable to

consider these results to be a fair if not fully balanced representation of the

opinions in these marketplaces.

Furthermore, as it is an online survey, the respondents would also be

skewed towards being ‘early adopters’ for technology, ‘trend setters’ in

general and likely to be a good early indication of brand leaders, trend

setters and early adopters in general.

These research surveys conducted by Austereo are done so to provide a

general understanding of the opinions, interests and attitudes of the

metropolitan marketplaces only.

ICONS: http://www.flaticon.com

Photos: http://www.unsplash.com

SINGLE 17%

DEFACTO 16%

MARRIED 61%

Metro GenX

17%

18%

56%

Regional

GenXR e l a t i o n s h i p

S t a t u s

M a r k e t B r e a k d o w n

33%

R e g i o n a l

21%

M e t r o

32%

R e g i o n a l

23%

M e t r o

16%

R e g i o n a l

28%

M e t r o

17%4%

8%

R e g i o n a l

11%

M e t r o

G e n d e r B r e a k o u t

R:

34%

M:

50%

R:

66%

M:

50%

R e g i o n a l M e t r o

5%

R e g i o n a l

58%

25%12%

3% 1%

56%

31%

11%1% 0%

I own my own home witha mortgage

I rent I own my own homeoutright

I live with my parentsand contribute financially

I live with my parentsand don't contribute

financially

65%

16%

1% 5% 5% 6%

53%

21%

1%6% 6% 7%

Full Time (30 ormore hours per

week)

Part Time or Casual(fewer than 30 hours

per week)

Student Small BusinessOwner

Full Time at Home Unemployed

KE

Y

Metro GenX Regional GenX

L i v i n g S i t u a t i o n

E m p l o y m e n t S t a t u s

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, 2017 -2018. “And just so we can narrow it down a little, from the following list, which word or words best describes your mood at the moment?”

Mood Monitor Trending: Mood at the Moment

METRO GENX

5%

9%

9%

24%

22%

22%

21%

21%

33%

34%

5%

5%

8%

19%

20%

23%

23%

24%

26%

30%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Angry

Excited

Pessimistic

Positive

Optimistic

Frustrated

Anxious

Concerned

Happy

Content

May-18 May-17

REGIONAL GENX

4%

5%

11%

23%

26%

26%

27%

28%

29%

36%

2%

4%

9%

16%

17%

15%

27%

21%

39%

45%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Angry

Pessimistic

Excited

Frustrated

Anxious

Concerned

Positive

Optimistic

Content

Happy

May-17 May-18

Mood Monitor Trending: Issues ‘Very Worried’

9%

11%

10%

14%

18%

20%

17%

19%

20%

18%

25%

26%

26%

35%

7%

7%

9%

12%

18%

19%

19%

20%

22%

23%

25%

31%

31%

34%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Worldwide Economy

Childcare

Australian Economy

Federal spending

Unemployment

Education

Environment

Terrorist attacks

Healthcare

Illegal immigration

Drugs

Crime and violence

Energy

Housing affordability

May-18 May-17

Source : SCAR Consumer Sentiment Study, 2017-2018 “How worried are you about the following things....?” Very worried.

8%

9%

12%

14%

17%

18%

25%

21%

28%

24%

34%

38%

38%

29%

8%

11%

12%

18%

19%

19%

26%

26%

31%

31%

35%

38%

39%

40%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Worldwide Economy

Australian Economy

Affordability and…

Federal spending…

Unemployment

Environment

Healthcare

Quality and…

Future terrorist…

Illegal immigration

Housing affordability

Crime and violence

Drugs

Energy

May-18 May-17

METRO GENX REGIONAL GENX

About this report…

SCA has conducted a Mood Monitor study twice a year for the past 6 years. The purpose of the study has been to

ascertain the ‘mood’ of the nation – and not simply rely on traditional consumer sentiment statistics that provided

numbers but no feelings.

By gaining an insight into the mood of the nation we hope to precede movement, particularly in relation to what is

likely to happen to spending habits. The aim is for the report to act as a current picture of how the nation is feeling

but also enable a level of prediction for the future – so we can be prepared.

For more information please contact scaresearchdepartment@sca.com.au