Commentary

Consumer Confidence Holds, But Expect Longer to Recover

Consumer Confidence Holds, But Expect Longer to Recover

According to the BIGresearch Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey in June, consumer confidence is steady, durable goods purchase plans are lower, but a few more consumers are planning to make airline reservations. The Marketing Executive Insights suggests that uncertain consumers keep retailers guessing when the good times will return. Consumers continue to exhibit inconsistent behavior.

Overall, the report summary says the noticeable outcomes of the research , besides those noted above, include the fact that value oriented retailers are in a winning position, employment attitudes improve and soft goods, home improvement, and lawn and garden purchase intentions are up.

Some of the data findings include:

  • 33.4% say they’ve become more practical purchasers since 9/11 vs. May at 31.2%
  • 33.5% in June say changes are long term vs. 34.6% in May
  • political and national security issues worry is off slightly in June vs. May with 37.9% saying so vs. 39.4%
  • 11.4% still say they have decided not to make airline reservations for vacations, however that’s an improvement over May’s 13.1%.
  • consumer confidence in June of 48.5% is identical to May
  • those who think longer than one year for economy getting back to normal increases from 34.6 in May to 35.6% in June.
  • those employed have increased to 53.4% vs. 51.2% in May ( the highest level of the year)
  • top 5 stores for Women’s clothing; Wal-Mart, JCPenney, Kmart, Kohl’s, and Target
  • top 5 for electronics; Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Sears, and Kmart.
  • top 3 reasons people give for choosing their favorite store for men’s clothing; Price 81.9%, Selection 70.2%, Location 53.7%.
  • top 5 stores for Health and Beauty Aids; Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens, Target, and Kmart
  • Wal-Mart continues to lead as first choice for groceries for more consumers followed by Kroger, Publix, Albertson’s, Safeway, Stop N Shop, and Meijer

    Purchase Intentions for each of the following durables versus May showing signs of pullback;
    (Numbers are % of those who say they plan to purchase in next 6 months)

    JuneMay
    Car/truck13.4%16.8%
    Computer14.2%15.9%
    Furniture16.8%18.1%
    Home Appliances11.9%14.3%
    TV/VCR/DVD18.2%18.9%
    Vacation Travel28.6%29.9%

    Financial plans of consumers over next 3 months:
    - 41.6%, paying down debt
    - 37.0%, increase savings
    - 32.1%, decrease overall spending
    - 28.9%. pay with cash more often
    - 9.2% saying they plan to buy stock
    - 3.8% say they plan to sell stocks

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    About the Author

    Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.