Consumer confidence in the US has dropped in March, which could be due to the bad weather the US has suffered this winter. This indicates household spending may be slow to pick up from the weather setback.
Consumers were surveyed and it was found they were more pessimistic about the outlook of the economy. Indicating that consumers feel that they need bigger payroll gains to reach a high wage growth, which could increase consumer spending. Many economists believe that it is the labor market that is the most important driver of consumer confidence.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fiw-consumer-confidence-producer-prices-20140314,0,446146.story#axzz2vyZ23qa4
3 comments:
Winter cold can keep many people holding off purchases that could have been made. More snow less likely people will want to leave their homes. Hopefully when weather conditions improve people will be still have a desire to make those purchases again.
Hopefully this will change, with the weather, and consumers will be geared up to spend come summer. First quarter is always a hard one in retail, and the polar vortex has certainly not helped. It would be interesting to look into historical changes in consumer confidence related to weather (seasonal) changes.
This article is linked to the article posted about Americans believing that the economy is still in recession. The survey stated that Americans were more pessimistic, which could be related to the polar vortex. If Americans do not have high enough consumer confidence, spending will go down. When Americans are actively and correctly educated about the state of the economy, they will be more likely to spend, especially during warmer months. I wonder if the number of consumers in the colder weather outnumber those in warmer weather? Does this actually have an impact?
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