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BIGresearch November CIA: Confidence Sinks, Gas Price Impact Increases and Future Spending Plans Decline
| Source: BIGresearch
COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - November 9, 2007) - Consumer confidence sunk to 37.3% (people very
confident or confident), the lowest level since June of 2006, according to
the 7,982 consumers who participated in BIGresearch's
(http://www.bigresearch.com) November Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey
(CIA).
"Gas price increases may be a contributing factor and 80% of consumers also
said they expect prices to hit $3.25 by Christmas," said Gary Drenik,
President & CEO of BIGresearch.
Consumer concerns over the economy and gas prices are prompting them to
take several measures to compensate with 41% saying they are taking fewer
shopping trips and shopping closer to home.
The all important holiday shopping season is already in gear with many
retailers "leap frogging" the traditional day after Thanksgiving with deep
discount specials. But retailers may have to extend the sales throughout
the season as 33.5% of consumers said they are worse off than a year ago
and 50% said there is "too much month at the end of their paycheck."
Over the next 90 days, consumer spending plans are down across most
merchandise categories with the exception of sporting goods and lawn &
garden versus November '06.
"Consumers' intention to stick to a budget (37.1%), do more comparative
shopping via circulars/newspapers (26.7%) and use more coupons (27.8%) may
further impact retailers' margins. Another recent phenomenon retailers will
have to contend with which may impact their bottom lines is the growing
popularity of gift card purchases, which creates a spending shift beyond
the traditional holiday season," said Drenik.
For further information and data tables, please click the following link:
http://info.bigresearch.com/.
About BIGresearch
BIGresearch is a consumer intelligence firm providing analysis of behavior
in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive,
and media. Each month, BIGresearch conducts the Consumer Intentions and
Actions (CIA) Survey which monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers.
The CIA delivers fresh, demand-based information on where the retail
consumer is shopping and their changing behavior. Unlike indicators based
on past performance, this data brings intelligence on where the retail
consumer is going, their intentions and actions. They also conduct the
Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM) which monitors over 15,000 consumers each
month.
BIGresearch's methodology provides the most accurate consumer information
in the industry with a margin of error of +/- 1 percent.
http://www.bigresearch.com