Retail Forward’s just-released Index of Future Spending reports that shoppers are slowing down their purchasing behavior, an attitude likely to persist into September. The survey suggests that still-elevated gas prices, rising interest rates, a “sideways stock market” and tentative job prospects are having an impact on consumer behavior.
What the survey describes as “down market households” (with annual incomes below $22,500) reportedly are feeling the concerns the most, with “up market households” (making more than $75,000 a year) feeling it the least.
The study also suggests that while consumers may be getting used to erratic gas prices, but that “higher interest rates are making some consumers think twice about making purchases they can't pay for right away.”
What the survey describes as “down market households” (with annual incomes below $22,500) reportedly are feeling the concerns the most, with “up market households” (making more than $75,000 a year) feeling it the least.
The study also suggests that while consumers may be getting used to erratic gas prices, but that “higher interest rates are making some consumers think twice about making purchases they can't pay for right away.”
- KC's View:
