Consumer Sentiment Sinks to Record Lows Over Inflation Concerns

The consumer sentiment for June is worsening, according to the monthly Survey of Consumers by the University of Michigan, with the index sitting at 50.2, the lowest ever recorded, a report from Seeking Alpha said.

“Consumers’ assessments of their personal financial situation worsened about 20%,” said Surveys of Consumer Director Joanne Hsu. “Forty-six percent of consumers attributed their negative views to inflation, up from 38% in May; this share has only been exceeded once since 1981, during the Great Recession.”

The opinions of the current conditions are sitting at 46.8, and inflation is expected to go up as much as 5.4%, an increase from what the number was before.

The report also notes that consumers have dark views of gas prices, expecting them to rise a median of 25 cents per gallon within a year.

That number is reportedly double what the estimate was in May, and the second-highest number since 2015.

See also: Gas High — But Spirits Higher — as Summer Travel Kicks Off

Despite that, the recent onset of summer, along with Memorial Day weekend, have seen people in good spirits anyway, PYMNTS wrote.

AAA reported its annual forecast of travel for the weekend, estimating that 39.2 million people would travel 50 miles or more from home for a holiday getaway, which was an 8.3% boost over 2021. The numbers were almost in-line with 2017’s numbers. Air travel was reportedly set to be up 25% over last year, which was the second-biggest jump since 2017.

According to AAA Travel Senior Vice President Paula Twidale, the holiday is “always a good predictor of what’s to come for summer travel. Based on our projections, summer travel isn’t just heating up, it will be on fire.”

According to Arrivalist, a location intelligence platform, gas prices’ rises were an important factor in planning travel, though airfare increases had been motivating people to drive more instead of taking planes.

Road trip trends have included more overnight stays, less day trips and more road trips in the 250+ mile range, along with more midweek travel.