A fresh study by Pollinate has revealed 49% of Australians are buying treats for themselves less often due to cost of living pressures.

The study, part of Pollinate's bi-annual 'The Australia Pulse', found economic and social worries are on the rise, with the cost of living remaining the top concern for 94% of Australians.

Concerns about women's safety and crime have also sharply increased over the past six months, ranking third and fourth respectively. A significant 84% of people are concerned about women's safety and crime, both increasing seven percentage points since August last year. Affordable housing is the fifth concern at 83%, followed by the quality of health care (81%) and access to affordable health care (81%). Almost half of Australians have cut their spending on treats, including alcohol, clothing, footwear, and takeaway coffee, due to economic pressures.

Interestingly, 87% of Australians believe most products and services are overpriced. Another key trend identified in the report is consumers increasingly turning to 'designer duplicate' brands or 'dupes' - products that resemble high-end products for a fraction of the price. In the past four weeks, 49% of people have bought a 'dupe'.

Women are most receptive to 'dupes', with 54% having bought a 'dupe' in the past four weeks. 70% of women believe that 'dupes' are the 'Robin Hood' of brands, taking away from corporations and giving back to consumers.

"Our most recent The Australia Pulse report found that cost of living remains at an all-time high concern for Australians and this year they are taking more drastic measures to combat it. There has been a seismic shift in the perceptions of value for many brands and products," said Howard Parry-Husbands, CEO of Pollinate.

"Australians’ spending habits have shifted, with many adopting ‘designer dupe’ products as a way to deal with their mounting economic pressures. They no longer see value in paying for big-name brands when good alternatives are offered at a fraction of the price. The real issue for brands here is that it’s likely that once habits change to accepting dupes, consumers aren’t likely to go back to paying higher prices for the branded products they used to buy, and will instead expect similar quality at lower price."

The research was conducted in April this year and covered 1,006 people aged 14 to 64 across Australia.