Overall Consumer Confidence increased in all nine New York State MSA’s in the first quarter of 2012, according to the latest Quarterly Consumer Confidence survey released by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI). At 81.5, the New York City region had the highest overall consumer confidence of the nine regions, and the Binghamton region had the lowest, at 65.9. Current and Future confidence increased in all nine regions.
“We haven’t seen this for a while. Consumers, whether looking back, forward or when taking stock of today, are more upbeat than they’ve been in nearly five years in every single region of the state,” according to Dr. Douglas Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI Founding Director. “While every region recorded healthy gains in “willingness to spend,” New York City and Rochester not only ranked one and two, but also both cracked the breakeven point, and now are more optimistic than pessimistic about their economic condition. Consumers remain cautious, but with most buying plans up, and after years of delaying purchases as part of the “new normal”, they say they are ready to return to spending on most items, especially home improvements and furniture, as they did before the recession iced their spending habits.”