Better outlook

A new survey from Deloitte shows that 55% of consumers think the economy has started to recover from the recession, and nearly two-thirds (64%) indicate their household financial situation is the same or better compared with a year ago.

The survey was commissioned by Deloitte and conducted online by an independent research company between May 1-3, 2010. The survey polled a sample of 1,052 consumers and has a margin of error for the entire sample of plus or minus three percentage points.

“Consumers appear to be picking up on the signals that point to brighter days ahead,” Stacy Janiak, vice chairman and Deloitte’s retail leader in the United States, said in a statement. “The majority of those surveyed indicate their net worth is stabilizing, if not improving. While consumers remain vigilant in this recovery, retailers should be encouraged by consumers’ tone as they plan for the critical fall and winter selling seasons.”

SURVEY FINDINGS
• Nearly two-thirds (63%) of survey respondents said they are planning to spend the same or more at retailers this year than they did in 2009.

• More than half of consumers (54%) say rising energy prices could cause them to hold back their spending in coming months; more than four out of 10 say higher taxes (45%) and lack of improvement in the job market (41%) could do the same. Roughly one out of four (27%) believe that the economy is recovering but may fall back into recession.

• 50% of consumers surveyed believe that retailers are currently offering more sales or deals in response to the recession. However, more than half (53%) also think there is less sales help in the stores today, and 43% say there is less inventory in the stores.

• Almost half (45%) of consumers surveyed said they shopped at certain stores to save money during the recession, and approximately seven out of 10 (71%) consumers plan to continue to do so even as their financial situation improves.

• While one-third (33%) are purchasing more online compared with a year ago, the Web has become an integral part of the in-store shopping experience as well, with three-quarters (75%) of consumers indicating that they look online for store, price or product information before or during their in-store shopping.

• More than half (56%) of respondents indicate they use social networking sites, and among them, more than four out of 10 (43%) interact with retailers through these channels. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of them do so to find out about promotions, almost half (48%) browse products and more than one-third (35%) review the recommendations found on those sites.

• More than one in five (21%) consumers have used a Web-enabled mobile phone in the shopping process. More than one-third of these consumers have shopped on a website (36%) or compared product prices (35%). Nearly three out of 10 (29%) have researched product information online and one-quarter (25%) have purchased a product on a website while using their mobile phone.