Consumer confidence declined in July for the third consecutive month as pessimism about the economy rose, according to Discover Financial Services.
The Riverwoods, Ill., credit card company said Wednesday that its Spending Monitor index in July fell to 86.5, down 1.9 points from June. Discover pegged the index at 100 when it launched in 2007.
Discover said that 57.9% of people said they believed the economy is in poor shape, up from 50.9% who said so in June.
More than half of respondents, 51.9%, in July said they believed economic conditions were worsening, up from 47.8% in June.
Fewer respondents saw any improvement in the economy, as 23.4% said they thought the economy was getting better, compared with 28% who in June.
The rising economic concerns are driving consumers to rein in spending, as 26.4% of respondents in July said they planned to spend less in the coming month compared with 22.8% in June.
"Economic uncertainty appears to be weighing on consumers' discretionary spending intentions," Julie Loeger, Discover's senior vice president of brand and product management, said in a press release. "In the spring, more consumers felt the economy was improving, and that correlated with an overall increase in spending intentions. Monitor data now suggest consumers' economic confidence is declining and with that so are their discretionary spending intentions."
