Consumers Bump Up Confidence In June

More than half (54%) of consumers in June were “confident” or “very confident” in the economy, a two-point bump from May and nearly 8 points higher than last year’s June reading — the most optimistic measure of June sentiment in the last 10 years, according to Prosper Insights and Analytics data reported by Forbes. Gordon Haskett analysts’ June consumer confidence measure landed at 118.9, up from 117.6 in May after declines in both May and April, according to a note emailed to Retail Dive, implying “that consumption may yet have some momentum behind it,” said Gordon Haskett analyst Chuck Grom in an email. Gordon Haskett’s June figure was the third highest since bottoming out at 25.3 in February 2009, capped off the best first half reported since then. It marked the 23rd consecutive month where consumer confidence was above of its 37-year average of 91.5; and the 30th month out of the last 31 when it was ahead of that measure. Consumer confidence dipped 2.1% in June from May this year, a 1.7% improvement from June last year, according to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers. Read more at Retail Dive.