News Number of the Day Reversing Trend, More Shoppers Cut Spending, Poll Shows By The Balance Editors The Balance Editors We’re a team of writers and editors with decades of experience researching and answering questions about personal finances. We believe everyone should feel confident when making money decisions, and that passion drives us to make The Balance the best place to learn about finances. learn about our editorial policies Published on August 10, 2021 Fact checked by Helen Reis Fact checked by Helen Reis Helen is the senior news editor for The Balance and a veteran journalist with more than 17 years of experience, mostly in business and finance news. She is passionate about making complicated topics easy for everyone to understand and compulsive about accuracy and transparency. learn about our editorial policies That’s how many months a run of improving consumer optimism lasted, according to a new poll that shows an increasing share of people cutting back their spending because of the pandemic. Fifty-six percent of respondents to an Aug. 5 survey by First Insight said they were reducing their spending below pre-pandemic levels, compared to 52% in July. It was the first of four polls taken since January showing an increase in the share of people being more cautious. First Insight, a business analytics company, has conducted polls periodically since February 2020. Targeted samples of more than 1,000 people around the country are part of each one. The latest survey showed consumers were worrying more about the safety of shopping in stores. Household spending increased in June, the most recent government data shows, but the First Insight survey is adding to evidence that consumers’ confidence has gotten shakier since then amid rising numbers of daily coronavirus cases. “I believe the trends we’re seeing may very well lead to families hunkering down again and curtailing experiential spending, especially for domestic and international travel, and shifting this spend toward physical products, including back to school items,” Greg Petro, First Insight’s CEO, wrote in a report released Tuesday. Have a question, comment, or story to share? You can reach Diccon at dhyatt@thebalance.com. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. First Insight. "Consumer Confidence Waning Again With COVID-19 Variant on the Rise According to First Insight Survey." First Insight. "Consumer Confidence Wanes Again With Covid-19 Variant On the Rise." Morning Consult. "August U.S. Economic Outlook."