Two in five US consumers have reduced spending as result of federal government shutdown, with consumers with lower household income affected more than upper-income consumers, finds survey

Cindy Allen

Cindy Allen

NEW YORK , October 15, 2013 (press release) – Lower-Income Households More Affected Than Upper-Income Households

A special demographically-representative U.S. consumer survey, which was conducted by ORC International on behalf of ICSC and Goldman Sachs between October 10 and 13, 2013, found that 40 percent of consumers scaled back spending as a result of the direct or indirect effects of the federal government partial shutdown that began in early October. The two-week federal government shutdown has impacted lower-household income consumers more than upper-income consumers, according to the survey. Consumers with income of $35K or less were more likely to be scaling back spending (47%) than those with incomes of $100K or more (32%). [Editor's note: please visit www.icsc.org/press to view chart]

The majority of consumers who were scaling back their spending say that it is “a little” (28 percentage points of the 40%--or 70%) while the remainder (13 percentage points of the 40%) indicate the degree of reduction is “considerable.” Michael P. Niemira, vice president of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers, noted that, “As Congressional leaders optimistically predict a budget deal may soon be reached, it is clear that the fallout of the past two-week impasse in Congress has affected consumers’ willingness and maybe their ability to spend. Hopefully, if the end of the government shutdown truly is in sight, this is likely to restore consumer confidence quickly and well ahead of the holiday season.”

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.

Founded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 60,000 members in over 90 countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world. For more information, visit www.icsc.org.

Survey Methods: These results were based on findings from an ORC International survey conducted on behalf of ICSC and Goldman Sachs among a sample of 1,025 adults comprising 505 men and 520 women 18 years of age and older. The online omnibus study was conducted using a demographically representative U.S. sample of 1,000 adults 18 years of age and older. This survey was conducted October 10-13, 2013. Completed interviews are weighted by five variables: age, sex, geographic region, race and education to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population, 18 years of age and older. The raw data are weighted by a custom designed program which automatically develops a weighting factor for each respondent. Each respondent is assigned a single weight derived from the relationship between the actual proportion of the population based on U.S. Census data with its specific combination of age, sex, geographic characteristics, race and education and the proportion in the sample.

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