Consumer Credit Pulse Survey

Monthly nationally representative tracking of how US households use, manage, and plan credit across cards, installment loans, and alternative products.

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Consumer credit pulse survey dashboard

Overview

The Consumer Credit Pulse Survey is Why Not Society's flagship monthly study fielded to 4,500–5,000 completed interviews among US adults ages 18 and older. It is designed for risk, marketing, and strategy teams that need timely household-level signals before lagging administrative data catches up.

Each wave measures revolving and installment balances, utilization rates, payment behavior, delinquency experiences, and forward-looking expectations for borrowing and repayment. Supplemental modules rotate quarterly to cover buy-now-pay-later adoption, secured card usage, and co-borrower dynamics without breaking core trend lines.

Methodology

We employ stratified random sampling from our national probability panel with post-stratification weights for age, sex, region, race/ethnicity, education, and income. Effective sample sizes and design effects are reported in every codebook. Mobile-first invitation with phone follow-up reduces coverage gaps among older and lower-income respondents.

Question order follows cognitive testing protocols to minimize satisficing. Attention checks and duration flags remove low-quality interviews before weighting. Historical revisions, when required, are documented with version notes.

Deliverables

  • Interactive dashboard with filters by FICO band, income decile, and census region
  • Executive PDF within 48 hours of field close
  • CSV/SPSS microdata with de-identified respondent keys
  • 12-month trend file for subscribers
  • Optional client-specific banner questions (ad hoc fee)

Sample Insights

Recent waves indicate prime borrowers stabilizing utilization near long-run medians while subprime households report higher expected difficulty covering minimum payments. BNPL repeat usage correlates with younger cohorts but is increasingly visible among middle-income parents financing education-related expenses.

FAQ

Field opens the first Monday of each month and closes within 12 business days, weathering holidays with adjusted timelines announced in January.
Yes. Custom modules require four weeks lead time and may affect incidence; we advise on bias and interview length impacts before approval.
No. Data are research statistics only. Clients must make independent decisions; see our Terms & Services for disclaimers.

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Annual and multi-year licenses include historical backdata and analyst onboarding.

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