Social
Intelligence Lab
The science of consumer decision making
Explore the NEO Economy, the mindset behind it, and what it means for the future of your business.
The NEO Economy
Which economy is your forecast built on?
In Australia, A$628 billion a year of household consumption takes place in the NEO Economy. A$481 billion takes place in the Traditional Economy, which has more than twice as many people.
In the supermarket aisle and the bank, more is spent in the NEO Economy than in the Traditional Economy.
“Upwards of 80% of our value was generated by the 40% of NEOs in our customer base.”
Scott Browning, former Marketing Director, JB Hi-Fi.
JB Hi-Fi made the NEO Economy its home.
An economy within the economy
The NEO Economy is home to consumers with a NEO mindset: people prepared to spend more, more frequently, on products and services they desire. The mindset is not an income band, an age group or a synonym for affluence. They start with quality, provenance, and the personal reward a purchase will provide.
In the NEO Economy, consumers notice price, but are desire-led rather than price-led.
The Traditional Economy is where people with a Traditional mindset spend, and for them, price is where a choice begins. Businesses make a great deal of money there, and serving it well takes real skill. But a forecast built around that economy alone risks overlooking where demand is concentrated.
The book
The NEO Economy: Where the Future of Your Business Is Being Decided
It is late, and the chief executive is still awake. It has been a good year, but one question will not go away: how much of this can we count on next year, and the year after that? The new book by Ross Honeywill, Jonathan Coles and Iain Good reveals where that answer lies.
Social Intelligence Lab · January 2027
Recent research
Report · 1 November 2026
The Australian NEO Economy: population, income and consumption
A$628 billion in annual consumption, with household income more than double that in the Traditional Economy.
Report · 1 November 2026
The US NEO Economy: population, income and consumption
Around US$9 trillion in annual consumption across the United States.
Executive paper · November 2026
The NEO Economy: Where the Future of Your Business Is Being Decided
Four businesses in four markets, and what they found in the NEO Economy.
Applying the research
The NEO mindset classification is applied commercially through NEO OS at TheRightCustomer.com. It combines NEO mindset intelligence with Roy Morgan category evidence, AI agents, and expert human judgement. The operating system puts businesses in control of their future value decisions.
5.6 million people · 24% of Australians aged 14 and over
11.65 million people · 50% of Australians aged 14 and over
July 2025 to June 2026 · Sources: ABS; Roy Morgan Single Source.
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