Happy consumers spend more money—on products and services. Chain Store Age (CSA) reports that “consumer sentiment took a big dive in March.” The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment dropped 11% to its lowest level since November 2022, making it three straight months consumer sentiment fell. Indeed, it’s down 22% from December 2024.
The big dip was in the index of consumer expectations (which measures sentiment for the next six months), which plunged 15.3% from February to March.
CSA reports that the declines in March were felt across all demographics, including age, education, income, wealth, political affiliations, and geographic regions. Joanne Hsu, the director of consumer surveys for the Index, explains, “Expectations for the future deteriorated across multiple facets of the economy, including personal finances, labor markets, inflation, business conditions, and stock markets. Many consumers cited the high level of uncertainty around policy and other economic factors. Frequent gyrations in economic policies make it very difficult for consumers to plan for the future, regardless of one’s policy preferences.”
Source: Currents