Consumer spend to be less reveals Retail Forward survey
10 Oct '05
1 min read
A new survey prepared by the retail market research firm Retail Forward suggests that U.S. consumers will likely curtail their spending in coming months.
According to Retail Forward's “Future Spending Index,” U.S. consumers intend to reduce spending as the index registered a sharp decline to 94.0 in October down from 104.6 in September.
“The economic side effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have sent a collective shudder through the consumer sector,” said Steve Spiwak, an economist with Retail Forward. “Higher energy costs are the main culprit for the falloff in spending intentions in October. But the storms also have heightened concerns about job security and the direction of equity markets, contributing to the soft near-term outlook.”
The Retail Forward report also suggests that higher gas prices and higher levels of charitable giving have resulted in less discretionary income for some consumers. Although the report suggests that spending cut-backs by consumers will likely be in entertainment-related activities, some consumers have also reported that they intend on cutting back on clothing purchases as well.
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