A new consumer confidence survey, intended to signal what we might see heading into the holiday buying season, shows some of the same contradictory attitudes we've been seeing for a while with this economy. The survey, from the Consumer Federation of America and the Credit Union National Association, makes two things clear: The outlook is brighter for consumer spending this year than it was last year, but it's still pretty bleak.
To be sure, the numbers are moving in the right direction. In last year's survey, only 19 percent of consumers said their financial situation had improved in the past year, and 8 percent said they'd spend more on the holidays this year than last. This year, those numbers are up to 23 percent and 10 percent. While the indicators are getting better, it's distressing that, in the economic recovery we find ourselves in, less than one in four consumers say they're in better shape this year than they were last year.
Maybe the brightest note in the survey is the one concerning credit-card debt: Only 10 percent of the respondents said they were worried about meeting their monthly payments. All told, the people running the survey said they expect the rise in holiday spending to be only about half the normal 5 percent increase. We'll be keeping our eyes on this in the coming weeks.
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