Consumer confidence down yet spending up amid tariff threat

Yahoo

10-05-2025

(WHTM) — A number of new government reports claim that consumer confidence is down this month. So, why are shoppers still spending like it's 1999?
It's hard to tell these days if consumers are feeling up or down. Many have been rushing to beat possible tariffs.
You may have seen or heard the headlines, 'Consumer Confidence Plummets… It's Lowest Level Since 2020.'
Richard Barlion, owner of Barlion's Fish Market, is not surprised.
His customers are noticing fish prices starting to rise.
'Definitely everything is starting to tick up a little bit,' Barlion said.
Many consumers are nervous about even higher prices soon.
But, a new federal reserve report finds that tariff fears have actually fueled consumer spending in the past month. Sales are up on clothing, new cars, appliances, and almost everything made in Chine as shoppers rush their purchases for the year to try to avoid any tariff price hikes.
So, from the 'Doesn't That Stink' file, all the uncertainty around the economy right now.
Will prices soon go up from tariffs, or will it all blow over with a new economic boom later this year? Hard to say, all we know is that the latest government number show confidence down but spending up, something that has rarely happened in the past.
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Now, if tariff negotiations make all this uncertainty go away, analysts say consumers should quickly start feeling better about their finances.
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