A new study built on 2,000 real stories shows that a brand's real competition isn't within sectors, but inside each moment of consumers' daily attention.

Washington, DC, Nov. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PSB Insights today released The Attention Economy, a new report that shows exactly where consumers’ free time goes and where brands are losing ground without knowing it. The findings show that consumers are regretting how they spend time with brands, and many brands don't realize that their real competition may sit outside their category.

PSB Insights Releases The Attention Economy

Key findings:

  • Connection is consumers’ biggest unmet need. Consumers want nearly twice as much time for Connection, and no brands are delivering it adequately. This is the clearest growth opportunity uncovered in the study.
  • Consumers don't choose brands. They choose feelings. How people want to feel from moment to moment dictates where their attention goes, making any brand that fulfills that emotional need a competitor.
  • Brands compete across seven attention states, not in one category. Every brand in the study registers across all seven daily attention states identified. Managing for your primary category means brands are playing one game while consumers are scoring them on seven.
  • More time spent with a brand can result in regret, not affinity. Escape (streaming, scrolling, passive consumption) dominates free time, yet consumers want double-digit points less of it. Brands living in this space risk being resented.

The learnings challenge several assumptions that brands make about their audiences. Consumers do not choose brands first. They choose how they want to feel moment to moment, and that feeling decides where their limited attention goes. Brands aren't just competing within sectors. They're competing within each moment of consumers' free time.

PSB Insights CEO Christopher Frank adds, “The Attention Economy tackles an essential question – how can brands pivot from capturing attention to creating connection? We are living through an attention crisis where consumers are seeking connection and meaning. The study unpacks seven core attention states mapping where consumers spend their time versus what they actually desire. It identifies clear white space for CMOs and brand strategists to explore. It is a fascinating read about consumers, attention and brands."

Seven Attention States Expose Clear Gaps

The study used PSB's pioneering Narrative Intelligence™ methodology to reveal consumers’ seven daily attention states. Escape—streaming, scrolling, and passive consumption—captures the largest share of free time at 32 percent, yet consumers say they want less of it. Connection is the largest unmet need in the study, with consumers spending 13 percent of their free time on it but desiring nearly double that. While every brand mentioned registered across seven states, none were closely associated with Movement, Order, or Expression, where consumers spend nearly a quarter of their free time.

The report brings into focus four questions that every brand team must answer: Which attention states are we actually hired to fulfill? Who is really competing for that state? Are we sticky by desire or sticky by default? And what unmet desire are our users leaving with?

From Messy Conversations to a Measurable Framework

Narrative Intelligence ™ uncovered the Attention Economy framework through AI probing with real respondents, asking them how they spent their most recent free time and why they chose it. From thousands of rich, conversational responses, it turned them into hard metrics that most researchers are used to only seeing from vast quantitative examinations. While the rigidity of scales can force respondents into boxes, conversational surveys at scale capture authentically human contradictions that represent more valuable data.

Lead author Colleen McCauley, SVP at PSB Insights, is available for interviews. The full study is available at psbinsights.com.

About PSB Insights

PSB Insights is a global market research agency of decision experts who decode consumer choice to help ambitious brands win. We create unfair advantages for clients by extracting strategy-defining surprises from unfiltered stories and messy consumer truths.  

Press Inquiries

Colleen McCauley, Senior Vice President, Marketing
cmccauley [at] psbinsights.com
610-673-4754
https://www.psbinsights.com