By Ericka Kamanou-Tenta
- U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to 57.9 in March—its lowest since 2022
- Nearly 40% of consumers blame new tariffs for declining living standards
Americans’ perceptions and emotions about the economy have tanked. U.S. consumer morale crashed to a score of 57.9 in March 2025 after falling 8% from earlier in the year, its lowest level since 2022. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index says more than that, there are doubts about the economy: It is a cultural barometer of escalating annoyance over inflation, political instability and concerns about what lies ahead for American prosperity.
Why This Matters: Close to 40% of consumers point to newly imposed tariffs for their declining standard of living. These feelings do not exist in isolation — they reverberate through communities, informing cultural narratives about financial survival, trust in institutions and generational stability. Those numbers show Americans against a backdrop of economic policy, the kind that most hurts the people who are most American.
Strangely, even with all this pessimistic hyperventilation, consumer spending continues to roll along. Retail sales rose 0.6% in March, topping expectations. Americans continue to shop for reasons that might include dogged custom, a streak of denial or the necessity of life itself. But the story is more than a game of numbers. In fact, “how people perceive that rising prices” might matter more than the prices themselves, according to University of Michigan researchers — and confidence in the economy is slowly peeling away. Culturally, this is where business decisions intersect with public emotion — and where mistrust thrives when people don’t feel heard.
Situational Awareness: In the U.S., economic confidence is not so much about GDP, it’s all about day-to-day dignity. Even with rising retirement accounts and an extended hot job market, Americans feel squeezed as tariffs reshape global supply chains and policy debates drag on. So what will it take to win the consumer back?
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