Consumers are uncertain about Economic Future.

According to BIGresearch’s May Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (CIA), when asked “Do you think your children and/or grandchildren will have a better economic future than you?,” almost two thirds (62%) of the 7,500 consumers polled answered with a resounding “no.”

Typical reasons for why people feel the way they do range from the optimistic, “better educated children and better technology,” to the uncertain, “bad politics, bad government, inflation and national debt are killing us.”

This uncertainty was shared across all age groups, with more women responding negatively than men. However, younger respondents (ages 18-24) were not quite as downbeat as older consumers. The age group with the most uncertain economic outlook on the future was 35-54-year-olds. Among this group, 48% feel they do not have adequate savings for the future, 31% are paying for purchases with cash more often, and 34% plan to start increasing their savings in the next 90 days. These consumers are also curtailing spending on dining out (42%), vacation travel (38%), and entertainment (37%). Fluctuating gas prices influenced many of these choices, especially for women ages 35-54.

“What’s surprising here is that both male and female consumers in this age bracket are fairly well educated, own their homes and are employed with an average household income of over $50,000 thousand per year — but there are very real economic concerns burdening them,” said Joe Pilotta, VP of research for BIGresearch. “Variable mortgages, soaring gas prices and lack of adequate savings all play a huge role in fueling their negativity. They just don’t see their situation getting any better, and that’s how they see the future for their children.”

“Furthermore, their children are likely to inherit this insecurity, so retailers need to take a good hard look at where the money’s being spent now and factor in how possible regulatory mandates on credit cards may foster a more certain economic future,” said Pilotta.

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