Discover U.S. Spending Monitor Falls Below 80 for First Time
Discover has announced that its "Discover U.S. Spending Monitor slipped to 79.7 in November, falling below 80 for the first time in its history, as consumer economic sentiment fell to a record low and concern over personal finances reached record highs. Heading into the holiday season, consumers temporarily reversed course on spending from previous months, with an increasing number planning on spending more in December. But the results of nightly surveys of random consumers during November painted a dark picture for retail activity at the onset of the important holiday shopping season. Continued concerns over the economy and personal finances have many more consumers preparing to spend less on holiday shopping than they did last year."
“It is worth noting that virtually every demographic segment covered by the Monitor is feeling the impact of the crisis in the country’s financial affairs,” said Margo Georgiadis, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Discover Financial Services. “Americans at every income level and age, married or not, with kids or not, appear to be unified in their view of the economy: it’s poor.”
“Even though consumers are far less burdened by household expenses than they were a year ago, a majority of them are actively spending less in all discretionary categories,” said Georgiadis. “Poor economic conditions and concerns over personal finances have ruled out any possible spending increases for most consumers.”
“Consumers have approached holiday spending this season with far more caution,” said Georgiadis. “This is not good news for retailers who rely on holiday spending for the bulk of their profits.”
For more Discover U.S. Spending Monitor survey data, charts and information, please visit http://www.discoverfinancial.com/surveys/spending.shtml.
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