2024 American Perspectives Survey

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People in Atlanta are more optimistic about their personal financial situations than the growth prospects of the U.S. economy over the next year, while exhibiting various degrees of enthusiasm, comfort and skepticism in the forces shaping the consumer experience, according to a new study released today by ��㣨Leyu�� LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm.

This survey of over 400 adults in Atlanta is part of the inaugural ��㣨Leyu�� American Perspectives Survey, which assessed the views of an additional 1,100 adults nationwide to understand their outlook on their personal financial situation and the U.S. economy, spending plans and preferences, as well as attitudes toward the forces shaping their experience in banking, energy, government, automobiles, healthcare and technology.

The report reviews these perspectives through the lens of compound volatility: the combination of near- term risks, such as geopolitical and technology-driven disruption, and longer-term structural changes to the U.S. economy, including the energy transition and sticky inflation.

Find the full report here.

Insights from David Leiter, ��㣨Leyu�� Atlanta Office Managing Partner:

Key takeaways: “The profound impact on Atlanta residents from disruptive events and powerful structural changes is clear. While the majority of people are optimistic about their personal financial situation compared with the national average, they are actively adopting new shopping habits and looking for bargains where they can. Generative AI is becoming more pervasive in the daily lives of Atlantans, and we are eager for government agencies to use the technology to improve key public services like the DMV and healthcare benefits.��

On GenAI expectations: “While the people of Atlanta are still learning how GenAI fits into their daily lives, we know that the technology is here to stay. We’re seeing differences across generations when it comes to using GenAI for a variety of purposes, and nearly half of Atlantans agree that the technology has a notable impact on their personal and professional lives.��

In Atlanta, people are optimistic about their personal financial situation and have developed new shopping habits in response to national economic trends.

Over half (52%) of people in Atlanta are optimistic about their personal financial situation in the next year, compared with just 19% who are not.
However, this optimism does not extend to the U.S. economy. Nearly 40% of people in Atlanta are not optimistic about the growth prospects for the U.S. economy, compared with 35% who are optimistic.
Even with sticky inflation, more people in Atlanta are optimistic about their disposable income in the next year (42% optimistic vs 37% not optimistic). However, they are also looking for bargains at a slightly higher rate than the national average, with 70% saying they plan to do more discount shopping this year, compared with 65% nationally. Additionally, 16% of consumers in Atlanta plan to use buy now, pay later services, compared with only 14% nationally.
Nearly one-third (32%) plan to do more shopping in person in the next year, and 21% plan to shop more on brands�� mobile apps.
Overall, only 18% report they will shop with sustainability in mind, even if it means higher prices. However, 27% of Gen Z and 24% of millennials expect to do so in the coming months.
Additionally, 45% are not optimistic that interest rate cuts will improve their personal financial situation.

While people in Atlanta are still in the early days of learning how GenAI fits into their daily lives, they are eager to see the technology put to work to improve everyday government services and programs.

Forty-two percent say GenAI has at least a somewhat significant impact on their personal day-to-day life right now, and 47% say the same about their professional lives.
Millennials lead the pack of early adopters, with nearly one-quarter (23%) reporting that they expect to use the technology on a weekly basis for work, ahead of Gen Z (18%) and Gen X (13%).
When it comes to using GenAI for personal reasons, Gen Z leads the way, with 42% using the technology as a writing assistant, compared to 34% of millennials and 27% of Gen X.
Overall, the most common use of GenAI for personal reasons is asking questions as they would in a search engine, with 35% of people in Atlanta reporting using GenAI in that way.

Healthcare:

Atlantans believe there are benefits to using GenAI in healthcare. More than half (54%) believe it will improve the consumer experience through enhancing tele-health, helping schedule appointments and refilling prescriptions.
However, trust gaps remain. With GenAI in healthcare, Atlantans are primarily concerned about a lack of human interaction and empathy (63%), reliability and accuracy of AI-generated diagnoses (57%), and privacy and security of personal health data (56%).

Government services:

Only 27% of people in Atlanta say government agencies are adequately leveraging technology to improve their services compared to 30% nationwide.
Atlantans say it is important for the government to use GenAI for services such as the DMV (63%), healthcare benefits (57%) and Social Security (54%) to improve their experience.
Despite expecting government agencies to use technology to a greater extent, over half (56%) of respondents in Atlanta also express concern about a possible cybersecurity breach at a government agency being more likely than at a private sector company.

The future of banking is top of mind for Atlantans as they evaluate digital options, the implementation of GenAI and cybersecurity risks.

Atlantans see value in physical bank branches, with 33% reporting they would not shift to a digital alternative even with comparable services. At the same time, 43% demand banking services be enhanced by GenAI.
People in Atlanta believe GenAI can help the most with budgeting (44%) and credit card choices (48%), but they have some skepticism about GenAI advice related to mortgages (33%) and investment advice (34%).
However, these trends vary by generation. In Atlanta, 66% of Gen Z and 53% of millennials are comfortable with GenAI budgeting advice from their bank, compared with just 35% of Gen X and 34% of boomers.
While people want to fully engage in a digital environment, a majority of Atlantans (57%) are worried about a cybersecurity breach at their bank compromising their personal information.

People in Atlanta want more renewable energy, believing it will reduce prices longer term, but are less likely to purchase electric vehicles than the national average.

Atlantans are most comfortable with the use of renewables as a power source for their electricity (60%) vs. fossil fuels (48%), and 55% believe adding more renewable energy to the power mix will reduce prices in the longer term, compared with 22% for fossil fuels.
Assuming all costs are equal, only 35% and 32% are comfortable with nuclear and hydrogen energy, respectively.
If all price points and features were on par, only 16% said they would purchase an electric vehicle instead of a hybrid (31%) or standard gas-powered (40%) vehicle.
People in Atlanta are willing to pay a monthly subscription fee for additional features and services for their cars, including additional safety features (73%), in-vehicle Wi-Fi (68%) and remote start from their phone (66%).

Of Atlantans who view GLP-1s as potentially important to them personally, nearly one-third believe GLP-1 medication would improve their quality of life, but few are willing to pay more for coverage.

Just 33% of people in Atlanta believe GLP-1s are not important to them personally.
Of Atlantans who view GLP-1s as potentially important to them personally, 32% believe GLP-1s would improve their quality of life by helping with overall health, significant weight loss or a specific health issue. Only 20% of this group believe they are too risky, while 18% believe the benefits are hard to predict.
Seventy-three percent would not be willing to pay out of pocket for the drugs, and only 16% would be willing to pay higher insurance premiums for coverage.

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