Concerns About Tariffs Drive Widespread Decline in Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence declined for the fifth consecutive month in April as consumers expressed growing concerns about tariffs’ negative effects on prices and the economy, The Conference Board said Tuesday (April 29).

Confidence declined across all age groups, most income groups and all political affiliations, according to a Tuesday press release detailing findings from the organization’s Consumer Confidence Index survey, which had a cutoff date of April 21.

In consumers’ write-in responses, mentions of tariffs reached an all-time high, per the release.

The write-in responses also showed that inflation and high prices continue to have an important effect on consumers’ views of the economy, the high cost of living is a complaint of the majority, and stock prices and uncertainty had “numerous mentions,” the release said.

The decline in consumer confidence was largely driven by consumers’ expectations, as their assessment of current business and labor market conditions has “held up,” Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators at The Conference Board, said in the release.

“The three expectation components — business conditions, employment prospects and future income — all deteriorated sharply, reflecting pervasive pessimism about the future,” Guichard said.

Guichard noted that the share of consumers expecting fewer jobs in the next six months was nearly as high as it was during the Great Recession and that expectations about future income prospects turned “clearly negative” for the first time in five years.

April’s decline in the Expectations Index dropped it to its lowest level since October 2011 and below the threshold that usually signals a recession ahead, according to the release.

The decline in consumer confidence was greater than that forecast by economists, Reuters reported Tuesday. The index dropped to 86.0, while economists surveyed by Reuters expected the figure to be 87.5.

The University of Michigan’s final reading for its April Surveys of Consumers found that concerns about tariffs and inflation drove consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level since July 2022.

The survey found that there was a “modest” decline in consumers’ appraisals of current conditions but that expectations “plummeted.”

“Consumers perceived risks to multiple aspects of the economy, in large part due to ongoing uncertainty around trade policy and the potential for a resurgence of inflation looming ahead,” Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in the report.