The Numerator Consumer Sentiment Tracker reported January consumer confidence was down slightly, slipping 0.2 points from December to 54.7, but confidence remained in positive territory above the 50 divider from the negative.
Consumers polled in the market researcher’s ongoing survey said they are saving money by shopping for items on sale (39%) using coupons/discount codes (38%) and cooking at home (38%).
In other Numerator survey results, in January year over year:
- 41% of consumers said they are very or somewhat comfortable spending money on discretionary purchases right now, unchanged from 2025.
- 36% of consumers said it’s very or somewhat difficult to find employment in the current job market, up seven points.
- 33% of consumers said they are spending less money overall.
- 48% of consumers said their household’s financial situation currently is good or very good, down one point.
Consumers with spare cash said they’re putting it in savings (35%), and paying down debts (32%), while 12% said they don’t have any spare cash, according to Numerator.
Financial outlook continued to rise in January, but most consumers didn’t expect any significant changes in their position. The January Financial Outlook Score was 53.1, up 0.9 points from December. In thinking about the future, more consumers believed their finances would be better a year from now (27%) than those who think they’ll be worse (21%), but the majority believe their finances will be the same (52%).
