LI consumer confidence highest since '08

The Siena College Research Institute reported its consumer confidence index... — The Siena College Research Institute reported its consumer confidence index for Nassau and Suffolk counties was 74.7 points in the April-June period, up 2.1 from the first three months of 2013. This is a renovated JC Penney story in Roosevelt Field. (Aug. 10, 2011) Credit: Steven Sunshine

By JAMES T. MADOREjames.madore@newsday.comApril 11, 2012

Consumer confidence on Long Island climbed in the first three months of the year to its highest level since 2008, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The Siena College Research Institute reported its confidence index for Nassau and Suffolk counties was 73.1 in the January-March period, an increase of 10.3 points from the final quarter of 2011. The index is the highest it has been since Siena began tracking the sentiment of Long Islanders 3 ½ years ago.

Still, readings below 76.01 indicate the number of people expressing pessimism about their economic well-being is greater than those who are optimistic.

"Consumers, whether looking back, forward or when taking stock of today, are more upbeat than they've been," said Siena pollster Douglas Lonnstrom.

He also said the rise in consumer confidence on Long Island mirrored a statewide trend seen in all of New York's nine regions. New York City was the most bullish; its index reading was 81.5 in the January-March quarter.

"While every region recorded healthy gains in willingness to spend, New York City and Rochester not only ranked one and two, but also cracked the break-even point, and now are more optimistic than pessimistic about their economic condition," Lonnstrom said.

Retailers follow consumer confidence indexes, which often indicate the frequency with which shoppers open their wallets. Siena releases a monthly index for the New York metropolitan area and a quarterly index for Long Island. Both are based on telephone surveys of adults over age 18.

March's metropolitan index came out earlier this month.

The number of Long Island residents saying they plan to purchase a home, automobile, computer, furniture or tackle a major home improvement project in the next six months was up in the first quarter compared with late last year. The biggest increases were in home improvement and furniture.

The poll is based on more than 400 interviews conducted locally.

At the Westfield South Shore mall in Bay Shore, some shoppers said they were cautiously optimistic about the future, though they complained about the high cost of gasoline and food.

Homemaker Laura Ruiz said she and her husband, Ray, are debating whether to replace their aging Chevy Tahoe SUV with a fuel-efficient hybrid car. "We wouldn't have considered taking on a car payment a few months ago because everything seemed so bad with the economy," said Ruiz, 48, of Brentwood. "Now, I think we can swing it . . . Things are looking up."