The Challenge

Traditional consumer confidence indicators often lag behavior and are heavily influenced by news cycles and macro narratives. Bain needed a direct, near‑real‑time view of consumer intent that could surface early inflection points, remain consistent over time, and integrate with broader macroeconomic analysis. 

Knowing that the findings circulated by the CHI report would routinely come under scrutiny by the finance and investment communities, the Bain & Company research team turned to Dynata to deliver the trusted data needed to power their report. 

The Dynata Solution

Dynata partnered with Bain to design and power the Bain & Dynata Consumer Health Indexes, delivering: 

• Weekly surveys, rolled up monthly for seasonally adjusted reporting 
• High‑quality, first‑party respondents at national scale 
• Income‑based segmentation to reveal uneven consumer impact 
• A flexible yet stable methodology designed for long‑term tracking 

The program includes weekly waves with monthly sample sizes of approximately 900–1,125 respondents, ensuring both timeliness and statistical robustness. 

Dynata also enabled income tier segmentation (e.g., <$50K, $50–100K, $100K+), allowing Bain to identify divergent consumer experiences—such as stress signals appearing earlier among lower income households. 

This approach delivers both timeliness and rigor—without sacrificing trend integrity. 

The Results

Bain & Company publishes its Consumer Health Index (CHI) each month with the highest confidence, knowing that findings are grounded in truth drawn directly from their target audiences. From this source data, Bain & Co. is delivering:  

• Earlier visibility into shifting consumer behavior, including savings pressure and rising debt reliance 
• Clear insight by income tier, supporting more targeted client strategies 
• High credibility with senior decision‑makers, driven by simple, behavior‑based questions 
• A resilient, cost‑effective tracking model that performs across economic cycles