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According to a new Siena College poll, the “New York State Consumer Sentiment and Buying Plans” have been continuing its pandemic recovery following a downturn in 2020.
According to the new poll, which was conducted among 404 New Yorkers between Wednesday, June 16 and Tuesday, June 29, the New York State Index of Consumer Sentiment has hit 83.7 percent, up 1.2 percent from the first quarter this year.
However, pollsters noted that New York’s Consumer Sentiment remains 1.8 below the nation’s 85.5 percent index.
Pollsters noted that the overall and future indexes for New York each increased this quarter and remain above the breakeven point of the optimism and pessimism balance.
The current index also increased, and is at breakeven, officials said. The overall and future national indexes increased but New Yorkers continue to be more optimistic about future economic conditions than the nation as a whole.
“Consumer sentiment continued to climb this quarter driven by increases in New York City, among Democrats and as the state’s lowest income bracket residents start to see light at the end of their economic tunnel,” Doug Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SCRI Founding Director stated.
“Overall, New York is up 17 points from the initial COVID shock as belief in a better tomorrow is now nearly as strong as it was before the pandemic. Upstate isn’t moving towards ‘Happy Days’ as quickly as NYC, but outside of the city the future looks brighter than it did in March 2020.
“Demand for major consumer goods is very robust up 20 percent over March 2020 for cars, 31 percent for furniture and 82 percent for home improvements,” Lonnstrom added. “But, as concern over the impact of gas now exceeds 50 percent and approaches two-thirds for food, price increases, or inflation, could slow this recovery.”
The complete study can be found here.
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