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Consumer Sentiment

CURRENTRelease

As Wall Street Soars, Consumer Sentiment Languishes
All U.S. Markets up 15 to 18% from a Year Ago; Overall Consumer Index Virtually Unchanged
Gas Price Drops Lesson Concern; Food Worries Rise
Home Buying Plans Up; Signals Increased Economic Activity
Summary Trends Buying Plans Gas and Food

1st Quarter 2013; Confidence Down in Every Area
Only NYC Remains Positive; Upstate Falls Furthest; Utica Weakest
Future Outlook Erodes, 4 to 11 Points
Buying Plans For Major Goods Weaken; Most Upstate Areas Below Historic Averages
Quarterly Trends Buying Plans Graph

The intent of the Index of Consumer Sentiment is to measure peoples’ willingness to spend, as opposed to their ability to spend.

Each month, the SRI survey establishes an Index of Consumer Sentiment number for New York State consumers. This index number allows a comparison of New Yorkers to all Americans (“the nation”) as surveyed by the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment index.

The SRI survey measures current and future consumer sentiment, which combined provides the overall consumer sentiment. Since June 2008, we have also looked at the monthly impact of gas and food prices on New York State consumers.

SRI's monthly survey further looks at sentiment in New York State by region (metro New York City and Upstate), age, income, gender and party.

SRI also produces a quarterly consumer sentiment index that looks at six regions (MSAs) of New York State: Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester and Syracuse.* The quarterly ICS provides regional measures of the state’s economic health. SRI has been following quarterly consumer sentiment trends by MSA since the 4th quarter of 2001 – the quarter following the 9/11 attacks that rocked New York City, the State, the nation and the world.