The U.S. Spending Monitor index from the issuer of Discover credit cards rose 2.3 points to 87.5 as the economic outlook from consumers improved, indicating an easing of spending cutbacks fostered by the prolonged recession.
Nonetheless, Discover reported no improvement in the attitudes of consumers surveyed when it comes to personal finances.
“There is little indication consumers are planning to increase spending in the months ahead,” Discover said.
But a leveling off is seen as a key positive in the current economic climate. February saw consumer spending intentions stabilize after months of holding back.
A monitor-high 57 percent said they planned to spend the same amount of money in the month ahead as they did in February, breaking the previous high by 3 points.
Over the past two years, “February marked only the third month in which all discretionary spending categories surveyed showed less than a majority of consumers planning to spend less,” Discover said.
Forty-one percent expect to spend the same in March as they did in February on discretionary items like going out to dinner or the movies, a 4-point increase, while 33 percent plan on spending the same as the prior month on home improvement purchases, also a 4-point increase — and 38 percent plan on spending the same on major purchases like a vacation, a 3-point increase.
“After months of cutbacks, we’ve seen two months in a row now in which consumer spending intentions appear to have stabilized,” said Julie Loeger, senior vice president of brand and product management for Discover. “Consumers seem to be comfortable as to where they are in terms of spending.”
Consumers also were more comfortable with their budgets in February. Just 35 percent of respondents are expecting an added expense or income shortfall this month, a low for the spending monitor.
Discover’s U.S. Spending Monitor is based on interviews with a random sample of 8,200 U.S. adults.
