WHAT'S HOT AND WHAT'S NOT
April 2026
The national mood is predominately negative, with a strong drop in Net Positive Emotions while Net Negative Emotions increase. Despite this, Nine’s audience value their health, life enjoyment, and family security but also show increased importance for a world at peace. While 1 in 3 are feeling a mix of optimistic and cautious due global unrest and rising costs, 1 in 2 are still feeling financially secure; all fuelling opinions and conversations this month.
3 April - 6 April, 2026
Inside this month’s Consumer Pulse dip
Mood of the Nation
The national mood
The national mood has further declined with a dramatic decrease in positive sentiment while negative sentiment has seen a significant uplift. The net negative mood has reached a record high, even surpassing levels seen during COVID. Australians are feeling frustrated, anxious and unsure, with these emotions seeing an increase month on month, reflecting a shift into a more negative mindset.
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Dominant mood indicators
The top moods are dominated by negative emotions, with only the bottom 3 of the top 10 feelings including the positive sentiment of calm, relaxed and hopeful. Frustrated, anxious and unsure top the list this month as the top 3 feelings. The dominance of negative emotions continues further down the list with pessimistic, annoyed, stressed, and sceptical, occupying the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th positions. The heightened negative sentiment across Nine’s audience reflects the escalating global unrest.
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NATIONAL MOOD BREAKDOWN
of the under 45 age group feel stressed
The top 5 feelings overall are dominated by negative emotions, a consistency across all age groups that reinforces the widespread impact of the current climate. However, those under 45 show stronger levels of stress (30%) and anxiety (38%) in comparison to older audiences. Additionally, males report strong levels of frustration (35%) and annoyance (30%), while females are more likely to be anxious (34%).
BRAND CONSIDERATION
Brands must move beyond mere visibility to provide a stability premium that counters widespread anxiety with reliability and combats demographic-specific frustrations through frictionless, hyper-accessible service.
Australian Values
Australians are secure but still concerned
When it comes to what matters most, health remains the most important value for Australians. This core value, along with enjoying life and family security, has continued to matter most year on year.
Other values have seen some slight shifts, with increased importance placed on a world at peace (up 9 percentage points) and national security (up 3 percentage points), reinforcing that the current global unrest is at the forefront of consumers' minds.
At the same time, the importance of well-being ideals such as mental health, and meaningful relationships through mature love and true friendship have seen a minor decline from the previous quarter.
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Conversation Starters
OUTLOOK ON THE YEAR AHEAD
of Nine's audience are feeling cautious
Outlook on the year ahead differs between demographics with older Australians feeling both optimistic and cautious
While around 1 in 2 are feeling cautious about the year ahead, 1 in 3 are feeling a mix of optimistic and pessimistic. Younger audiences show a highly cautious outlook, while older audiences express a stronger mix of both optimism and caution. Cautious sentiment stems from global conflicts and instability, as well as increased financial stress due to price increases. Those experiencing a mixed outlook, attribute it to comfort and security within their personal world despite the instability globally, as well as some expressing the perception that the current issues are short term and will pass.
BRAND CONSIDERATION
To bridge the gap between global instability and personal security, brands should position themselves as reliable anchors that validate the caution of younger consumers through value-driven stability while tapping into the personal world optimism of older audiences by highlighting long-term resilience.
Financial security
of Nine's audience are feeling financially secure
Half of Australians feel financially secure despite global conflicts and rising prices dominating concerns
Current concerns are dominated by global conflicts and their impact on fuel prices as well as national security (78%), and rising prices for essentials (70%). However, despite these concerns 1 in 2 are still feeling financially secure. Older audiences show less concern than those under 45 for high rent, rising interest rates, ability to buy a home and ability to afford non-essentials (e.g., holidays, dining out), reinforcing that they feel more financially secure and are likely to maintain their current spending habits. Additionally, females show higher concern over the cost of essentials, while males are slightly more concerned about political polarisation / social division.
BRAND CONSIDERATION
To succeed in a market defined by starkly different financial realities, brands must deploy a flexible value proposition that pairs empathetic, cost-conscious messaging for those feeling the squeeze with high-confidence, lifestyle-affirming engagement for the significant portion of the population whose spending power remains resilient.
NEWS CONSUMPTION
of Nine's audience are increasing the time they spend accessing news
Australians news consumption increased for 1 in 5, with Australians prioritising reliable and trusted sources
In the last month, Nine’s audience expressed being more selective with their news sources (37%) and more reliant on trusted news sources (33%), highlighting the increasing importance Australians are placing on reliability and credibility. Additionally, news consumption has seen an uplift with 1 in 5 increasing the time they spend accessing news. The combination of these behaviours tells us that audiences are engaging more deeply with content they perceive as credible, rather than passively consuming a wide variety of sources.
Older audiences show strong engagement with news in comparison to younger audiences, with those under 45 tiring more so of the Middle East conflict coverage. Additionally, females are looking to counterbalance the prevailing negative mood, with 1 in 4 seeking out good news / lighter news stories.
BRAND CONSIDERATION
In an era of rising news fatigue and heightened discernment, brands must prioritise placement within high-trust, credible environments to capitalise on deeper audience engagement.
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