Consumers in upstate New York and statewide weren’t quite as confident about the economy to begin the new year, according to the latest Siena College Research Institute (SCRI) quarterly survey report of consumer sentiment issued April 11. Consumer sentiment in upstate New York fell to 83.9 in the first quarter from 90.4 in the fourth […]
Consumers in upstate New York and statewide weren’t quite as confident about the economy to begin the new year, according to the latest Siena College Research Institute (SCRI) quarterly survey report of consumer sentiment issued April 11.
Consumer sentiment in upstate New York fell to 83.9 in the first quarter from 90.4 in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to SCRI.
Statewide consumer sentiment fell to 87.1 from 92.3 in the fourth quarter. The statewide figure was 14.3 points lower than the first-quarter consumer sentiment of 101.4 for the entire nation, which was up 5.5 points from the fourth-quarter measurement, as measured by the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index.
This quarter’s five-point drop in New York state consumer sentiment was due to a “weakening” in New Yorkers’ confidence in the state’s economic future, Douglas Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SCRI founding director, said in the survey report.
“Overall confidence remains strong, but New Yorkers are far less secure today and optimistic about our state economy than Americans in general are towards their personal situation and the country’s future. Concerns about the future, perhaps due to recent market volatility and tariff talk is highest in Upstate and among older New Yorkers,” said Lonnstrom.
In the first quarter of 2018, buying plans were up 1.6 percentage points since the fourth-quarter measurement to 22.4 percent for major home improvements.
Buying plans were down 6.3 points to 38.2 percent for consumer electronics, off 0.5 points to 7.1 percent for homes, and down 1.6 points to 13.6 percent for cars and trucks.
Buying plans held even at 27.4 percent for furniture, according to the SCRI data.
“Despite some weakening in the overall index, with current sentiment buoyed by well over half of New Yorkers saying that this is a good time to buy major household items, we see plans for home improvements higher than at any point since 2007. Furniture buying as well as home buying look to remain robust,” said Lonnstrom.
SCRI conducted its survey of consumer sentiment between March 1 and March 29 by telephone calls conducted in English to 802 New York residents. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, according to SCRI.
