The latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index’s headline number is 138.4 (1985=100), up from 134.7 in August.

Analyst Opinion of Conference Board Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence has been on a multi-year upswing – and this upswing is roughly correlating with increases in consumer spending.

The consensus range from Econoday was 130.0 to 134.3 (consensus 131.7). This month’s index is based on data collected through 14 September 2018.

Per Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board:

After a considerable improvement in August, Consumer Confidence increased further in September and hovers at an 18-year high.The September reading is not far from the all-time high of 144.7 reached in 2000. Consumers’ assessment of current conditions remains extremely favorable, bolstered by a strong economy and robust job growth. The Expectations Index surged in September, suggesting solid economic growth exceeding 3.0 percent for the remainder of the year. These historically high confidence levels should continue to support healthy consumer spending, and should be welcome news for retailers as they begin gearing up for the holiday season.

Caveats Relating to CB Consumer Confidence

From the Conference Board:

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch.

Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen’s Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry’s only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90 percent of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.