Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by consumers.
Skip to Main ContentThe payment for your account couldn't be processed or you've canceled your account with us.
Re-activateIn addition, perceived financial problems, including difficulties making credit-card payments and covering medical bills, may be stabilizing, according to the Consumer Reports Trouble Tracker and Stress indices, two components of the Consumer Reports Index. In the West and South, survey respondents reported fewer troubles in early November than in the prior month. In the Midwest, perceived troubles appeared to be slightly (up 2.4) worse. Northeasterners' opinions stayed about the same.
Those optimistic results are the bright spots in a report that generally shows consumer plans and attitudes at a slow simmer. Two weeks before the official start of the holiday shopping season, planned purchases were flat or lower in most categories, including appliances, yard and garden goods, cars and homes, according to the Consumer Reports Next-30-Day Retail Index. (The survey underlying the Index was completed before Congress extended and expanded a one-time $8,000 tax credit for new-home buyers.)
Ed Farrell, a director of the Consumer Reports National Researcher Center, which created the Index, posed a cautionary note. "The economy remains in a precarious position where further decline is possible but is slightly less likely," Farrell said. "Unless consumers can see concrete improvements in their lives and retail activity picks up, any near term recovery is improbable."
For more details and information on how the Consumer Reports Index is conducted, click here.
Build & Buy Car Buying Service
Save thousands off MSRP with upfront dealer pricing information and a transparent car buying experience.
Get Ratings on the go and compare
while you shop
