Confidence drops in February - BIGresearch

Economy

With Obama’s Washington welcome wearing off and the recession wearing thin on consumers, confidence takes a nosedive in February…one in five (19.4%) is confident/very confident in chances for a strong economy, lowering more than five points from last month (24.7%) as well as February ’08 (26.2%)…back in the good ‘ole days – February ’07 – confidence was a robust 53.2%. Stay tuned in March for the resonance from the stimulus bill…

President Obama's decision to shutter Gitmo doesn't appear to have done too much to allay consumer concerns regarding political and national security issues…one in four (24.8%) contend they continue to worry, down slightly from January (26.7%), but remaining heightened from a year ago (20.6%).

We witnessed a new high in practical spending last month, and consumers seemed to have relaxed this sentiment in February (perhaps because shoppers just aren’t headed to stores right now)…half (50.0%) of consumers indicate they’ve become more practical/realistic in purchasing, down seven points from January (57.3%), though still a substantial hike from a year ago (40.2%).

Likewise, consumers tempered in February when it comes to choosing needs over wants…although more than half (57.6%) still contend they zero in on necessities when spending, this figure drops from 66.0% last month, though remains on an incline from February ’08 (48.0%).

BIGresearch's Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey monitors over 8,000 consumers each month providing unique insights & identifying opportunities in a fragmented and transitory marketplace. www.bigresearch.com