Consumer confidence held relatively steady in September, but the percentage of consumers who felt their personal financial situation was worsening reached a nine-month high, according to new survey data Discover Financial Services released Oct. 6.
Discover’s U.S. Spending Monitor Index in September declining 0.5 points, to 85.7 from 86.2 in August. Discover set the index at 100 when it introduced it in May 2007.
In a nationwide telephone survey of 8,200 U.S. adults Rasmussen Reports conducted throughout September on behalf of Discover, 57% of respondents rated the economy as poor, unchanged from August, and 51% believed the economy was getting worse, up from 50% who did the previous month. Some 49% of respondents said their personal finances were worse in September, up from 48% who said so in August.
Confidence in September declined most sharply among adults ages 18 to 39, Discover says. For the first time since January, 50% of adults younger than 40 said they felt economic conditions were getting worse, up from 46% who said so in August. And 47% of those participants said their personal finances were getting worse, up from 44% who did in August.
Older consumers felt slightly more optimistic compared with recent months, as 54% of respondents ages 40 to 65 said economic conditions were getting worse, down from 55% who said so in August. Fifty-one percent of the respondents in that age group said they thought the economy was worsening, unchanged from August.
“Younger consumers have always been a bit more optimistic about the economy and their finances than their older counterparts,” Julie Loeger, Discover senior vice president of brand and product management, said in a statement. “Their optimism clearly faded in September, and it will be interesting to see whether the economic confidence among this age group can be restored in the months ahead.”
Some 13% of respondents said they would spend more on major personal purchases during the next 30 days, down from 16% who did in August, while 48% said they would spend less on major personal purchases, up from 45% who said they would in August.
Half of all respondents said they plan to spend less on home improvements in the next 30 days, up from 48% who said so in August, while 48% said they plan to spend less on a vacation or gym memberships, up from 45% in August. Respondents who planned to spend less on dining out or going to the movies remained unchanged at 48%.
