ALBANY (TNS) — A poll by the Siena College Research Institute found that despite the worsening of the coronavirus pandemic, consumer sentiment in the state is largely unchanged since the late summer when it was “hovering” between optimism and pessimism.
Siena’s consumer sentiment data is measured by an index that shows whether or not the public is optimistic about their future buying power and financial health. The index also looks into the future as well.
This version of the Siena poll was a snapshot of the fourth quarter of 2020. It was conducted from Dec. 10-16 via random phone calls to 404 New Yorkresidents and 400 responses from “a proprietary online panel of New Yorkers.”
Currently, Siena’s consumer sentiment data shows New Yorkers are at the cusp of being right on the line when optimism becomes pessimism, at about 75 points. The country as a whole is at 80 points, which is five points above the optimism line. Upstate New York is slightly below the pessimism line at 71 points.
But when you dig into the data, not all New Yorkers see it the same way, said Doug Lonnstrom, a professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and the founding director of the Siena College Research Institute.
”First glance tells us that consumer sentiment, up less than a point this quarter, is little changed, but like so many things, it depends upon party registration. Democratsare now far more bullish about economic conditions as their index soared by nearly 12 points overall and by almost 15 points on the future score,” Lonnstrom said. “Republicans whose index last quarter was 17 points higher than Democrats, now are pointed in the pessimistic direction falling 14 points and trailing Democrats by nearly 9 points. Despite COVID, Democrats are now only down 3 points from last winter while Republicans are down 32 points.”
However, consumers are very worried about prices rising for staples like gas and groceries.
The poll found that 34 percent of New Yorkers think that gas prices, which have been on the rise, are having a serious impact on their finances, compared to 30 percent during the third quarter of the year.
Already, more than half of New Yorkers say that grocery prices are having a serious impact on their household budgets.
Despite those worries, New Yorkers are planning to spend more on big purchases than they were during the third quarter of 2020, such as cars, homes, electronics and home improvement projects.
