The latest survey on consumer sentiment in New York State doesn't show a lot of optimism about the economy. But the Rochester area fared a little better than some other regions around the state.
The survey taken in the third quarter by Siena College shows that consumer sentiment started to soften up, especially in the end of the quarter as word about the possible shutdown in Washington started to surface. Still, pollster Doug Lonnstrom says that the Rochester area tied for third with Buffalo in terms of overall consumer sentiment.
But he says concerns about the impact of the government shutdown will continue to weigh on consumers' minds and that could also affect retailers for the upcoming holidays.
“Right now I would not predict a robust Christmas buying season, I think there are just too many negative factors out there, and of course, a lot will depend, gas prices have stayed fairly stable during this quarter, if they had shot up to four bucks where they were a year ago, these numbers would be a lot worse.”
Breaking down the numbers for Rochester, Lonnstrom says consumers plans to buy some big ticket items, such as cars and furniture are down, however plans by consumers to buy homes were up in the latest quarter.
