New York consumers more confident

Thursday 16.04.2009 (16 months ago)
USA :: Buffalo :: Property News


Consumers in most areas of New York state see better days ahead — Buffalo included — according to the Siena Research Institute.

The first-quarter report released Wednesday shows an upturn in overall consumer confidence in eight of nine metropolitan areas. Buffalo, up 4.3 points compared to a year ago, had the third-best improvement but still ranks last among at 54.4 points.

At 63.4, the New York City region had the highest overall consumer confidence of the nine regions. SRI said “current” confidence increased in seven of nine regions while “future” confidence increased in all nine regions, which also include Syracuse, Binghamton, Mid Hudson, Utica, Albany, Long Island.

“Consumers have taken a deep breath and stepped back from the economic cliff,” said Dr. Douglas Lonnstrom, SRI Founding Director. “After hitting historic lows last fall amidst chaos in the financial sector, bailout burnout and concern over layoffs and business closings, consumers today feel more optimistic. Confidence is up and now moving in a more hopeful direction, but consumers newly programmed to practice caution are hardly ready to storm the mall or the car lot.”

The intent of the consumer confidence index is to measure peoples’ willingness to spend, as opposed to their ability to spend.

SRI has been following quarterly consumer confidence trends by metropolitan area since the 4th quarter of 2001.

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