---
title: "Consumers see choppy economic waters"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/ed112961-49c0-4e8c-beb2-3bb49a3c25a6
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/consumers_see_choppy_economic_waters.html
author: "M. Scott Morris"
category: "Finance"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2023-10-02T09:30:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T20:10:03.025Z
image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/7987_plate.jpg
---

# Consumers see choppy economic waters

**TL;DR:** A majority of Americans are concerned about the economy and believe the country is in a recession, according to Numerator's monthly Consumer Sentiment Study. 64% of consumers feel the country is in an economic recession and 65% think the U.S. economy will worsen in the next few months.

*By M. Scott Morris, originally published in Franchising.com on 2023-10-02. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/consumers_see_choppy_economic_waters.html).*

## Story

A majority of Americans remain concerned about the strength of the economy and even more believe the country is currently in a recession, according to Numerator’s monthly Consumer Sentiment Study. Here’s a breakdown of the most recent results:

- 59% of consumers have a high level of concern regarding the economy, remaining steady from August.
- 64% of consumers feel as though the country is in an economic recession, and 65% think the U.S. economy will worsen in the next few months. In addition, 74% think inflation will increase in the next few months.
- Over the coming months, 40% of consumers say their primary concern probably will be personal finances.
- 75% of consumers say rising prices on essential goods and services are their main economic worry followed by rising prices on gas/fuel at 70%.
- Consumers are more troubled about the economy’s impact on retirement savings or pension plans (42%) than they were in August (38%).
- Consumers are still uncomfortable with discretionary spending—72% are hesitant to splurge on premium items, 71% are wary of taking money out of savings or retirement accounts, and 55% are uncomfortable spending money on non-essential items.
- In response to inflation and rising prices, consumers plan to cut spending on dining out (44%) and travel (38%), but 27% do not expect to cut back on spending.
- Covid-19 concerns jumped in September with 24% of consumers reporting a high level of concern compared to 15% in August. Published: October 2nd, 2023

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- General (sector)
- M. Scott Morris (person)
- Numerator (company)
- consumer sentiment (topic)
- inflation concerns (topic)
- economic recession (topic)
- Americans (location)
- personal finances (topic)

---
Originally reported by M. Scott Morris, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/consumers_see_choppy_economic_waters.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/ed112961-49c0-4e8c-beb2-3bb49a3c25a6).