Gas Prices, Inflation Spike Spark Major Affordability Concerns: JD Power Report Finds

By Roy Urrico

Consumers face intensifying affordability concerns and a shift in buying habits as a result, according to the May 2026 Banking and Payments Intelligence Report from JD Power, the Troy, Mich.-based data analytics company’s financial services intelligence research. This report is part of a monthly series that examines consumer sentiment around financial health, the economy and inflation, and discuss unique or specific subjects each month.

Jennifer White, Managing Director of Financial Services Intelligence at JD Power.

“The financial health of consumers in the United States has been teetering on the edge for years. And as each month passed without significant improvement, concern among analysts grew that a major global event could swing the scale for many toward economic distress. As consumer prices in April rose 3.8% from a year ago against the backdrop of an uncertain economy – the biggest annual increase since May 2023 – the prevailing fear is that we have reached that tipping point,” said Jennifer White, Managing Director of Financial Services Intelligence at JD Power and the report’s author.

The latest Banking and Payments Intelligence Report is based on responses from 4,000 consumers nationwide and was fielded in April 2026.

Key takeaways:

• Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they are at least somewhat worried that prices for everyday items will increase in the next three months, with 41% saying they are extremely worried (compared to 37% two months ago).

• Sixty-two percent of respondents said they have delayed bigger purchases in the last month due to the costs of everyday goods.

• The particularly strong concerns about gasoline registered with 72% of respondents who said they paid more for gas than a month prior (compared to 40% in February), according to the report. Topping those concerns: grocery prices at 78% (compared to 75% in February).

Financial Health Stays Flat

In April, the total share of financially unhealthy consumers, defined as vulnerable, overextended or stressed, held steady to 69%, the report found. That is largely in line with the previous four months. (JD Power measures the financial health of any consumer as a metric combining their spending/savings ratio, creditworthiness, and safety net items like insurance coverage.)

Over half (52%) of consumers also said their usual expenses are less affordable than they were six months ago. That reflects a 6-percentage-point increase from February. Stressed (64%), vulnerable (60%) and consumers that are over the age of 40 (57%) were most likely to express this sentiment, but these fears are prevalent among even the healthy consumers (45%, up 9-percentage points since February).

Battle Tested Relationships

“For the better part of five years, consumers have been trying to acclimate to a tenuous financial environment. But with this latest round of volatility, it looks like the rubber is set to finally meet the road, as we anticipate seeing decreases in savings, increases in debt, postponement of homeownership, delayed retirement plans and even a portion of consumers dipping into their 401(k) for emergency funds,” the Banking and Payments Intelligence Report stated. It added, “That means that consumers will be on the hunt for creative ways to keep their finances afloat.”

For financial institutions looking to help their customers through these turbulent times, they’ll have to take a proactive approach, suggested JD Power in the report. It recommended new lending options, and budgeting and savings tools that should be vital pieces of outreach strategies that financial institutions can offer. For financial institutions already working closely with their accountholders to help them survive these trying times, “they should be able to fall back on the trust they’ve built over the years.”