Americans Slowed Spending Long Before Economic Crisis: Study

Consumer confidence and spending began to dwindle as early as spring 2007, according to a new study from Experian Marketing Services.

Going back even further, between October 2006 and October 2008, visits to retail Web sites slowed by 4%. During the same time period, visits to Web sites in the travel category were down 10%.

That wasn’t the only bad news for marketers with online presences. Online searches for major electronic items saw significant, year-over-year decreases, with televisions down 33%, laptops down 48% and computers down 57%.

“Our data shows a clear indication that the preferences and behaviors of consumers trended toward a slowdown well before the economic woes experienced over the past few months,” Joe Paulsen, general manager of Consulting and Analytics for Experian Marketing Services, said in a statement.

The analysis also found that between spring 2007 and spring 2008:

* The percentage of U.S. adults who felt they would be financially better off in the next year dropped from 46% to 37%

* The number of adults who felt they would be worse off in the coming year grew by 9%, to 22%.

* Households earning $250,000 or more were the fastest to abandon the notion they would be somewhat or significantly better off in the coming year, dropping by 40 percent from spring 2007 to summer 2008.

* Middle- and upper-middle-income Americans (incomes ranging from $50,000 to $249,000) had the largest declines among those who planned to purchase big- or medium-ticket items within the next month, falling nearly 25%.

* The number indicating they were likely to buy big- or medium-ticket items within the next 30 days declined between spring 2007 and spring 2008, with middle-income Americans showing the steepest drops.

* Among those most likely to make medium- or big-ticket item purchases, most were likely to keep buying if they found good deals. And, in fact, visits to coupon Web sites jumped 27%.

Was there any good news? For grocers, yes: visits to grocery Web sites rose 29%.