How strong would you say the U.S. economy is today? If you’re like the majority of U.S. adults, you wouldn’t call it a strong one at all.
That’s the consensus from the July Consumer Spending Report from Chain Store Guide. The report found that 68 percent of adults rated the U.S. economy as either fair or poor. Just 30.9 percent of adults said that they would consider the economy as either good or excellent.
The percentage of adults who appear confident in the U.S. economy seems low. But it is on the rise. Last April, only 21.6 percent of adults said that the economy was excellent or good.
On a more personal level, 30.7 percent of adults said that their personal finances were getting better, while 33.1 percent said they were getting worse in the July spending report.
Of course, retailers want consumers to be as confident as possible. Consider how confidence impacts restaurants. According to the Chain Store Guide Restaurant Spending Index, 46.8 percent of adults in June who made under $50,000 a year said that they are eating out at restaurants less frequently. But only 32.6 percent of adults earning $50,000 to $100,000 and 19.1 percent of those earning more than $100,000 a year said that they were eating out less often.
