Consumer confidence on Long Island drops, at its lowest point in 2 years

Long Island consumers are more pessimistic about their immediate financial future than at any time in the past two years because of issues like the rising cost of food and housing, according to a new poll.

The Siena Research Institute reported this week that its Index of Consumer Sentiment was 65.1 points in September in Nassau and Suffolk counties. That’s the lowest reading since June 2023’s 61.2 points and down from 70.1 in September 2024.

In the metropolitan area, which includes the Island, the index was 72.6 points last month, compared with 78.1 a year earlier. Statewide, the trend was similar.

Readings below the breakeven threshold of 76 points indicate the number of consumers who are worried about their financial outlook is larger than the number who are optimistic.

Worried consumers are more reluctant to open their wallets, which leads to less spending, said John A. Rizzo, an economist and Stony Brook University professor. He added that consumer spending accounts for about 70% of all economic activity.

Rizzo attributed the “sharp decline in consumer confidence” to rising prices, particularly for imported goods that are subject to U.S. tariffs, and uncertainty about the future of Obamacare.

“None of this bodes well for the holiday shopping season on Long Island,” he said.

At Walmart in Farmingdale on Thursday, shoppers said they are hoping for better days.

“Prices just keep going up, but I’m hoping they level off before Christmas, when I have a lot of gifts to buy,” said Samantha Reynolds, 63, a retired teacher from Melville. “The average person cannot control tariffs, gas prices or when the [federal government] will reopen. You can only pray that things calm down soon.”

In the Siena survey, the high cost of food and housing in Nassau and Suffolk was among the factors holding down the local consumer-sentiment index reading.

More than 7 in 10 Long Islanders said food prices and housing costs were having either a very serious or a somewhat serious impact on their finances in September.

Travis Brodbeck, associate director of data management at the institute, which is part of Siena University, said gasoline prices also “remain a serious strain on New Yorkers’ finances. Yet, residents are not signaling any major belt-tightening."

The sentiment index is derived from a Sept. 15-22 poll of 814 New York State residents, including 96 Long Islanders. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points for the total sample and 11.3 points for the local sample.