Emotional Economics: The Credit Mindsets Shaping Retail in 2025

Sooth founder Ian Baer unpacks two of the most financially active and emotionally reactive groups right now in the econonmy. Singles are using credit to maintain lifestyle continuity, ensuring they don’t miss out on experiences, trends or purchases that feel essential to their identity. Meanwhile, married consumers are using credit strategically as a buffer against uncertainty, a way to protect what they’ve built, and a tool for longer-term financial stability. Retailers need to understand these driving factors to better connect with the consumer, to move their hearts and carts