When taking a look at the current landscape of consumer sentiment across the United States, retailers may be a bit confused – recent reports have shown that consumers are increasingly confident in the nation's economy and their own financial conditions, but at the same time, they are curbing their retail spending.

Bloomberg reports that according to the latest Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, the figure for May rose to its highest level in six years, coming in at 84.5. This is also a strong increase from April, when the index stood at 76.4. Analysts speculate that there are several factors which contributing to the boost in confidence, some of which include an improving housing market and solid stock prices, the news source explains.

On the other hand, this optimism does not seem to be fully translating into higher sales for the country's merchants. The Los Angeles Times states that the most recent data from the Commerce Department revealed that Americans reduced their spending in April by 0.2 percent. Economists said that a lack of growth in personal income was mainly to blame for the drop, as shoppers had less money to spend on discretionary items, the source reports.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, May 31st, 2013 at 12:51 pm .