Consumers Anxious, Realistic, Practical, and Cautious About Next 90 Days
According to BIGresearch's monthly Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey, consumer confidence declined to 43.8% from July when it was at 47.8%. However, the August number is still higher than August 06 when confidence was 38.6%.
Gary Drenik, President & CEO of BIGresearch, says "Consumers seem to be feeling a bit of economic anxiety; they want to be optimistic but seem concerned about their financial situation and appear pessimistic over the future price of gas and increased layoffs." And, while thoughts of "not as well off as last year" are pervasive, there is no indication of a decrease in overall spending.
Key Economic Mood Findings From The Survey | ||
| August, '07 | July '07 |
Focused more on needs over wants in purchasing | 46.5% | (47.4%) |
More layoffs next 6 months | 33.3% | (31.4%) |
Current financial situation worse off than a year ago | 31.7% | (N/A) |
Top financial plan - "paying down debt" | 33.1% | (33.8%) |
Source: BIGresearch, August 2007 |
Shopping strategies appear to be evolving towards a price orientation as 17.8% cited only buying clothing when on sale, versus 13.7% who said sales are not important when buying clothing.
Future purchase plans (next 6 months) for most big ticket durables were up from August 06 for computers, furniture, appliances, jewelry, TVs, digital cameras and vacation travel.
As a snapshot of the current attitudes, intentions and expectations, here's a summary of the study findings..
Concerning the economy:
Considering personal and financial plans and expectations:
On the retail scene:
In August, 14.7% contend that newest fashion trends and styles are important to them, up significantly since each of the five years prior. 52.4% still say that value and comfort override fashion, while 32.9% prefer the traditional conservative look.
Among the Top 5 Grocery stores, customers at Publix, known for selection and quality over price, tend to spend the most, while shoppers at value-based grocers (Wal-Mart, Kroger, Meijer) tend to spend less.
In A Typical Month, Approximately How Much Do You Spend On Groceries? | |
| Average |
Adults 18+ | $251 |
Wal-Mart | $259 |
Kroger | $247 |
Safeway | $273 |
Publix | $305 |
Meijer | $240 |
Costco | $276 |
Sam's Club | $296 |
Trader Joe's | $214 |
Source: BIGresearch, August 2007 |
For more information on the Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey, please visit BIG here.