doxoINSIGHTS Survey Shows Personal Financial Health is Key Voter Consideration in the Presidential Election
In April of this year, we conducted our first doxoINSIGHTS COVID-19 Bill Pay Impact Report that showed that even at the very beginning, the pandemic had a direct and immediate impact on consumers’ ability to make bill payments. Now, seven months later, with reduced incomes, and minimized household cash flow, many Americans are still fighting to keep their financial health intact.
Today we revealed the results of our latest doxoINSIGHTS survey of household bill payers. We found that as consumers continue to struggle with paying their bills, their confidence in a quick economic recovery – for both the country, and themselves – is very low. Further, while many Americans have benefitted from government assistance during the pandemic, the money is quickly running out.
Combine these scenarios with one of most unprecedented presidential elections in modern history, and it is no surprise that financial health is greatly impacting how consumers are voting this year.
Key findings from the latest doxoINSIGHTS survey of household bill payers include:
Consumers Believe That U.S. Economic Recovery (& Their Own) Will Take a Long Time
According to Pew Research, the economy is the number one issue for consumers in the 2020 election. This doxoINSIGHTS survey shows that consumers believe we have a long way to go before a recovery, both at a macro and micro level.
65% of voters believe that the economy will take more than one year to recover
60% of voters believe that it will take seven or more months for their own households to recover
While Many Americans Benefited from the CARES Act, the Money is Quickly Running Out
The House passed a new stimulus bill on October 1st, but it has been held up in the Senate, creating uncertainty and further delay for American households. doxoINSIGHTS data shows that while many Americans have benefited from government assistance to help with financial hardship during the pandemic, the money that they initially received is quickly running out:
Nearly half of all households have received relief from the CARES Act
57% believe that these benefits benefits will run out in a month or less
Personal Financial Health is Impacting Voting Decisions
Individual household recovery is expected to take more than seven months for the majority of Americans, according to the doxoINSIGHTS survey. This, coupled with the fact that government assistance is quickly running out, means personal finances, not just the macro economy, are a key factor in the decision process for a majority of voters:
70% of voters say recent changes to their own financial health are impacting how they vote
Methodology
doxoINSIGHTS provides direct insight into household financial health and spending activity by leveraging consumer surveys and doxo’s unique aggregate bill pay data set, comprising actual bill payment activity to confirmed household service providers across the country. doxo data brings together the broadest available data set for analyzing actual household bill payment activity, pulling from over 4 million paying consumers across all 3,007 U.S. counties. doxo’s payment network covers over 70,000 billers in 45 different service categories and enables payments using bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards. This uniquely broad statistical foundation powers doxoINSIGHTS reports – uncovering key trends for household financial health and bill payment behavior.
The results of this survey, which ran from September 21st to September 28th, have a 2% margin of error from 1,568 sampled households.