Consumer confidence grew in June, market researcher Numerator reported, noting participants in its research said they had more faith in their ability to make ends meet and considered the job market improved.
Consumers also expressed increased comfort with non-essential spending, according to Numerator.
The Numerator June Consumer Confidence Score was 57.1, up 0.3 from May. The figure averages how consumers feel about the job market, their household finances and their spending comfort levels.
Key findings from Numerator’s June study:
- 40% of consumers considered finding employment to be very or somewhat easy in the current job market, while 27% deemed it somewhat or very difficult.
- 49% of consumers said their household’s financial situation is currently good or very good, up one point from May.
- 41% of consumers said they were very or somewhat comfortable spending money on discretionary purchases in the current marketplace.
- 36.2% of consumers with spare cash said they’re putting it in savings, but consumers are also paying down debts, at 33.3%, even as 13.2% of consumers said they do not have any spare cash, down 2.9 points from May.
- 30.1% of consumers intend to use spare cash to travel or go on vacation, and 20.8% plan to make home repairs/improvements
- 42.8% of consumers are using using coupons and discount codes to save money, while 42.6% are shopping for items on sale and 40.9% are cooking at home.
Numerator’s June Financial Outlook Score was 51.2, up 0.9% from May, indicating consumers feel neutral when it comes to their household finances. Asked about anticipated conditions one year from now, 25% of consumers expected their finances to be better, 53% said they likely would be the same, and 23% said they would likely be worse. Black consumers and Gen Z consumers were the most optimistic about their financial situations, while White consumers and Boomers Plus were the least optimistic, according to Numerator.
