CONSUMER SENTIMENT TRACKER
Keep tabs on consumer confidence.
The newly refreshed Numerator Consumer Sentiment Tracker provides a monthly view of consumer confidence, spending & saving considerations, and future financial outlook. The tracker is powered by a continuous survey to our consumer panel capturing over 6,000 responses each month.
Latest Update: 4/04/2024
Consumer Confidence Score
Consumer confidence was up in March versus the month prior, driven by increased comfort across the board. Households reported higher confidence in their ability to make ends meet, higher confidence in the job market, and higher comfort with non-essential spending. Overall sentiment is up slightly from last year, though job market confidence is down.
- Job Market Score: 40% of consumers think it’s very or somewhat easy to find employment in the current job market, up from 38% last month but down from 43% last year. Meanwhile, 27% think it’s somewhat or very difficult, in line with last month and up 5 points from last year.
- Household Finances Score: 49% of consumers say their household’s financial situation is currently good or very good, up from 47% last month and 46% last year. 15% say their finances are poor or very poor, down from 17% last month and 16% last year.
- Spending Comfort Score: 41% of consumers are very or somewhat comfortable spending money on discretionary purchases right now, up from 38% last month and last year. 30% are somewhat or very uncomfortable, down from 32% last month and last year.
MARCH CONSUMER CONFIDENCE SCORE
57.3
+1.6 vs. Feb
- Consumer Confidence Score: Average of the other three scores
- Job Market Score: Weighted average of responses to the question, “How easy or difficult do you believe it is to find employment in the current job market?” Respondents could answer along a five-point scale from “Very easy” to “Very difficult.”
- Household Finances Score: Weighted average of responses to the question, “How would you describe your household’s financial situation (ability to make ends meet)?” Respondents could answer along a five-point scale from “Very good” to “Very poor.”
- Spending Comfort Score: Weighted average of responses to the question, “How comfortable are you with spending money on discretionary purchases/non-essential items right now?” Respondents could answer along a five-point scale from “Very comfortable” to “Very uncomfortable.”
Spending & Saving Considerations
A third of consumers saved their spare cash in March or used it to pay down debts. The next most popular options were vacation/travel, home repair/improvement, and investing. Vacation and home improvement were both up compared to last month and last year. Despite higher spending comfort, consumers are increasingly looking for ways to save, as well—they’re shopping on sale, using coupons/discount codes when possible, and cooking at home, though home cooking was down slightly this month versus last.
Financial Outlook Score
Consumers feel neutral about their household finances—thinking about one year from now, 24% think their finances will be better than they are now, 53% think they’ll be the same, and 23% think they’ll be worse. This is down slightly from last month, but up compared to the back half of 2023. Black consumers and Gen Z consumers are the most optimistic about their financial situations, while White consumers and Boomers+ are the least.
MARCH FINANCIAL OUTLOOK SCORE
50.9
-1.0 vs. Feb
- Financial Outlook Score: Weighted average of responses to the question, “Thinking of the next 12 months, how do you expect your household’s finances will compare to now?” Respondents could answer either “Better,” “Same,” or “Worse.”
About the tracker
Numerator’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker combines data from three ongoing Microsurveys—brief surveys (three questions or less) fielded on a rolling basis to our entire consumer panel. The surveys collect over 6,000 responses per month, and their abbreviated nature ensures high participation rates and fresh, reliable data each month.
Looking for our past consumer sentiment data?
An alternate version of the Numerator Consumer Sentiment Survey was fielded to a smaller subset of US consumers each month between June 2022 & December 2023. This version of the study has now ended, but historical views including COVID sentiment can be found by downloading the 2022–2023 recap report.
