See how consumers feel about the economy & COVID.

After a sharp increase in October, consumer financial concerns rose once again in November, with 42% citing personal finances as their top concern for the coming months, up from 40% last month. 64% of consumers have a high level of concern regarding the economy, in line with last month. Nearly three-fourths (72%) of consumers feel as though the country is in an economic recession, and 70% believe it will worsen in the next few months. 

COVID-19 concerns continue to drop, with only 5% citing the pandemic as their primary concern in the next few months. General level of concern regarding the pandemic and various pandemic-related restrictions like masking, travel bans, and lockdown measures all declined, as well.

Nearly three-fourths of consumers say they're currently uncomfortable splurging on premium items (72%) or taking money out of personal savings / retirement accounts to spend (73%). Over half are also uncomfortable investing in the stock market, spending on non-essential travel, or spending on non-essential items in general. Two-fifths of shoppers anticipate cutting back on eating out & travel in the coming months to offset rising prices– these figures are higher among low & middle income consumers and lower for high income consumers.

Numerator's consumer sentiment survey is fielded to 1,000+ consumers on a monthly basis. All consumers are active members of Numerator's 100,000 person OmniPanel. The study was updated in June 2022 to incorporate new timely questions about the economy and to sunset some COVID-19 era sentiment questions. Responses are shown at a total level and also broken out by income level.

Income Level Definitions:

Low Income: <$40k annual household income || Middle Income: $40 – 80k annual household income || High Income: >$80k annual household income