Women are quietly recession-proofing their lives. Here's how brands should respond...

While headlines still tout strong employment numbers and a resilient economy, there’s a quiet shift happening offline: young women are closing their wallets.

They’re skipping nights out, unsubscribing from hauls, buying fewer clothes, and opting for Costco runs over cocktails. And no, it’s not because they’re broke.

This is more than just budgeting. It’s foresight. Intuition. The kind of low-frequency hum you can only pick up when you’re paying attention to the stuff that doesn’t make headlines. Things like the rising cost of oat milk, or the slow creep of rent hikes (help), or the way your best friend just dropped “maybe I’ll move back in with my parents” into a group chat like it was nothing.

The emotional economy is real, and women have always been its frontline analysts.

Women have long been the economic backbone of households and a silent force behind market movement. We’re talking about the demographic that controls 85–89% of consumer purchases, yet is still often portrayed as frivolous or irrational with money. But look closer, and you’ll see it’s women who adjust first when the economic wind shifts.

According to the Wall Street Journal, women are now pulling back on spending at a much faster rate than men. And they're doing so before things have officially gone south. In fact, this trend has started showing up across retail, food, and entertainment. Call it what you want (intuition, emotional intelligence, vibes), but it’s starting to look a lot like an actual recession indicator.

The women who not long ago splashed out on flying out of state for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and their extravagant Brat Summer are pulling all the way back.

Searches in the U.S. for “press on nails” are up 10% since February, and “blonde to brunette hair” is up 17% in the same period, according to WSJ. When the fashion girlies can’t maintain their colour or manicures, that when you KNOW sh*t's about to get tough.

“In the 12 months that ended in February, female shoppers accounted for 60% of general merchandise sales, which includes apparel, footwear, home decor and more, according to consumer-analytics research firm Circana. In the three months ending February, spending on general merchandise was down 1% among women, and half of that was in lost apparel sales.” Says WSJ.

There’s a reason women feel it coming; we’re managing the emotional and financial microtransactions that make up everyday life.

The grocery bill. The kids’ school costs. The rising cost of living and the invisible mental math that tracks all of it. Women are the canaries in the capitalist coal mine, only instead of chirping, they’re quietly unsubscribing from email lists and switching to generic home brands to get by.

Sure, the internet wants to talk about #GirlMath and the cost of iced coffee. But under the surface, there’s something way more sophisticated happening. Young women are tracking interest rates, building emergency funds, swapping fast fashion for resale sites, and sharing budgeting spreadsheets like they’re love notes.

TikTok and Instagram are flooded with women talking about money. Not just how to make it, but how to protect it, grow it, and detach their self-worth from how much they’re spending. So no, it’s not about skipping brunch. It’s about building a buffer. It’s about staying ten steps ahead in an economy that often leaves women playing catch-up.

Women are shifting from spenders to strategists.

And if your brand is built on impulse buys, payday drops, or treating women like they’re just dying for another scented candle... you might want to rethink your playbook.

The brands that will thrive in this landscape are the ones that respect women’s intelligence. That prioritise transparency, utility, and long-term value. That stop trying to “feminise” their products and start designing with emotional and financial resilience in mind. Pinkwashing will get you nowhere in this economy.

Because marketing to women in 2025 isn’t about glitter and guilt trips. It’s about meeting an audience that’s emotionally and economically three steps ahead — and has already started recession-proofing her life. TUH. 

-Sophie, Writer