Consumers Enter The Holiday Season With Mixed Feelings

October 31st, 2009 • Related • Filed Under • by trisha

For many Americans the future looks bright compared to recent years in terms of the economy. After what felt like a never ending series of bad news the economy appears to be on the road to recovery. survey With this change in direction, many consumers are feeling more confident about the future, however recently learned lessons will not soon be forgotten.

This week, the results of two surveys indicate that while people feel better about where the economy is heading, there continues to be concern over job security, debt, savings and all areas of personal finance. This comes as no surprise considering how bad things have gotten financially for most households. While the economy is beginning to move in the right direction, many of those surveyed indicate personal money situations have not improved, in fact many continue to see worsening financial situations. Half of the people surveyed believe the unemployment rate will continue at the current rate which is the highest it has been in 26 years. It could take years for many consumers to get their finances back on track therefore most people are paying close attention to each dollar they spend.

Savings increase as spending drops.

After a brief increase in August, consumer spending dropped 0.5 percent in September. This was the first drop in spending after months of improvement. The wages and salaries of Americans’ also gained, then lost 0.2 percent in this time period. With fewer dollars being spent by consumers, the savings rate increased from 2.8 percent to 3.3 percent.

Holiday shopping plans reflect consumer confidence.

Despite lingering fears concerning the economy and a cautious outlook on spending, it appears Americans are eager to return to the traditional holiday shopping season. Over half of the people surveyed believe the economy will be better in 2010 versus the 28 percent who thought so this time last year. Along the same lines, 51 percent of consumers hope to spend the same amount of money or more this year during the holidays versus 41 percent last year. This positive outlook does not mean people are ready to dive back into excessive spending, in fact the number of gifts and the amount of money spent on those gifts remains lower than recent years. This proves that while many people feel better about where things are going, they are not ready to embrace the excessive consumerism common before the recession.

Some things remain the same.

There are many things that remain relatively unchanged from last year. Almost sixty percent of people plan on shopping at value/discount stores while forty-two percent plan to take advantage of shopping online. Gift cards continue to remain popular among gift givers with 64 percent of consumers expecting to buy them as presents.

There have been many changes in the past few years, most of them for the worse when dealing with the economy and personal finances. It appears the tides have turned with consumers cautiously looking forward to a brighter future. Hopefully the holiday season will reflect this growing optimism, making it the best holiday in recent years for some families.