52% of American believe that worst of Crisis is not over

Majority of US consumers do not think the worst of the US economic crisis is behind them and plans to spend on luxury items remain low. 

• Only 34.3% of consumers surveyed by ARG said the worst has passed while 52% do not think so.
• “The consumer still feels that they are in the bottom of this pit and they are by no means of getting out of it”
• Consumers are still much more focused on prices when buying food than a year ago
• 1 in 3 used their tax refunds to pay down debt.
• 24.8% of the 1,000 consumers said they are likely to make a luxury purchase of at least $500 than they were 3 months ago.
• "I'm really convinced that there is no discretionary spending going on right now. The only spending is replacement spending,"
• When it comes to buying food 74.2% said price is a bigger factor when making a purchase than a year ago.
• 24.2% said they feel they have extra cash in their paycheck thanks to the US government stimulus package.
• The stimulus package includes a tax credit that will be paid to many workers in the form of less withholding tax taken out of paychecks, though at $400 annually for single workers, that amounts to only $7.69 a week.

Source: CNN Money