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: 3/01/2024

Consumer Confidence Score

Consumer confidence was up slightly in February versus the month prior, driven by increased comfort with discretionary spending. Households reported higher confidence in their ability to make ends meet, while confidence in the job market held steady. Overall sentiment is on par with last year, though job market confidence is down.

  • Job Market Score: 38% of consumers think it’s very or somewhat easy to find employment in the current job market, down from 40% last month and 43% last year. Meanwhile, 27% think it’s somewhat or very difficult, up from 26% last month and 22% last year.
  • Household Finances Score: 47% of consumers say their household’s financial situation is currently good or very good, up from 45% last month and 43% last year. 17% say their finances are poor or very poor, down from 18% last month and last year. 
  • Spending Comfort Score: 38% of consumers are very or somewhat comfortable spending money on discretionary purchases right now, up from 37% last month and 36% last year. 32% are somewhat or very uncomfortable, down from 33% last month and last year. 

FEBRUARY CONSUMER CONFIDENCE SCORE

55.7

+0.4 vs. Jan

  • 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 February or used it to pay down debts. The next most popular options were vacation/travel, home repair/improvement, and investing. All of these spending considerations were up compared to last month and even more significantly compared to last year. Despite higher spending comfort, consumers are increasingly looking for ways to save, as well—they’re cooking at home, shopping on sale and using coupons/discount codes when possible, though the latter two activities were down this month versus last. 

Financial Outlook Score

Consumers feel neutral-to-optimistic about their household finances—thinking about one year from now, 25% think their finances will be better than they are now, 53% think they’ll be the same, and 22% 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.  

FEBRUARY FINANCIAL OUTLOOK SCORE

51.8

-0.6 vs. Jan

  • 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.

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