American consumer sentiment is on the rise, especially among Republicans, following Donald Trump’s landslide victory over Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this month.
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 71.8 in November, which marks the highest point since April, Reuters reported. Consumer sentiment was rising before the election, but the latest report shows a massive spike among Republicans who are more optimistic about the economy following Trump’s win.
“Overall, the stability of national sentiment this month obscures discordant partisan patterns,” said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu. “In a mirror image of November 2020, the expectations index surged for Republicans and fell for Democrats this month, a reflection of the two groups’ incongruous views of how Trump’s policies will influence the economy.”
“Ultimately, substantial uncertainty remains over the future implementation of Trump’s economic agenda, and consumers will continue to re-calibrate their views in the months ahead,” Hsu added.
Among Republicans, consumer sentiment shot up by 15.5 points, while it dropped among Democrats by 10.1 points. Consumer sentiment also slightly ticked down among independents. Future expectations also increased among Republicans by nearly 30 points while falling among Democrats by more than 18 points, the Washington Examiner reported.
The report comes as shoppers head to stores and look online for Black Friday and Christmas deals.
In the final weeks before the election, the consumer price index, which measures the general cost of goods and services across the country, increased 0.2% when seasonally adjusted. Eggs were 8.4% higher, nearly 40% more expensive than a year ago. Butter was 2.8% higher, almost 8% more expensive than a year ago.
Americans look forward to potentially lower inflation, with year-ahead inflation expectations falling to 2.6% this month. Inflation under President Joe Biden reached 9.1% in June of 2022 after Americans grew accustomed to an inflation rate of less than 2% when Trump was in office.
Trump made the economy and inflation major issues of his campaign, promising to address them mainly by lowering energy prices. In September, during a town hall meeting in Flint, Michigan, Trump was asked how he would “bring down the cost of food and groceries” as many families struggle to pay their bills.
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“We have to start always with energy,” Trump replied. “I don’t want to be boring about it, but there’s no bigger subject that covers everything. If you make donuts, if you make cars, whatever you make, energy is a big deal.”
“And it’s my ambition to get your energy bill within 12 months down 50%,” he added. “If I can do that, we’ve done a hell of a job … [and] interest rates are going to follow.”
Mairead Elordi contributed to this report.