This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Rise in consumer confidence leads to bright spending outlook for 2014

The year 2013 was not without its challenges for the U.S. economy, but data shows that this didn’t dampen consumer confidence. In December, consumers ended 2013 feeling highly confident about business and job market conditions. This optimism correlates to a bright outlook for consumer spending coming into 2014, which is great news for mixed-use developments such as One Loudoun with retail destinations that would benefit from increased spending.  

The Consumer Confidence Index from The Conference Board, a non-profit business research association, increased from 72.0 in November to 78.1 in December 2013. Consumer confidence can be defined as an economic indicator that measures how optimistic consumers feel about the state of the economy. It’s an important indicator because high confidence in the economy theoretically equates to more spending, and increased spending benefits the overall economy.

Find out what's happening in Ashburnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index in December was the strongest year-end reading since 2007, and consumer sentiment regarding current conditions in particular increased to a five-and-a-half year high. According to information from The Conference Board, consumers are feeling confident about both current labor market and economic conditions, and those conditions in the near future.

Other various factors combined with increased consumer confidence are leading to a bright outlook for spending at the beginning of 2014. In 2013, the economy saw the largest employment gain in eight years, a substantial rebound in the housing industry and record-high stock values, which all boosted household wealth. Increased household wealth will help support increased spending by consumers who are clearly confident in the direction that the economy is headed.

Find out what's happening in Ashburnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The increase in both household wealth and consumer confidence, and the potential positive impact on spending, is great news for retailers. At One Loudoun, our retailers already benefit from being in a mixed-use community, where consumers live and work right down the street. A bright outlook for spending in 2014 is just another benefit that current and future retailers in One Loudoun have to look forward to in 2014.

According to various reports and data, 2013 ended with enough momentum to power the economy into the new year with high hopes and optimism for good things to come. At One Loudon, excitement for the future is nothing new – as a continually growing mixed-use community in the wealthiest county in the nation, we know that great things are always right around the corner. Our residents, businesses, restaurants and retailers always enjoy the benefits of being in One Loudoun, but we’re especially excited to look forward into the new year to see what positive and exciting things lay in store for our mixed-use community. 

SOURCE: Bloomberg News, The Conference Board

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?