Consumer Confidence Inched Up in February

By SBE Council at 24 February, 2026, 5:03 pm

by Raymond J. Keating -

According to the Conference Board, the Consumer Confidence Index inched up 2.2 points from 89.0 percent in January to 91.2 (1985=100) in February.

The Present Situation Index, which is "based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions" declined by 1.8 points to 120.0 in February. Meanwhile, the Expectations Index, that is, "consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions," increased by 4.8 points to 72.0.

Dana M Peterson, chief economist for The Conference Board, noted, "Confidence ticked up in February after falling in January, as consumers' pessimistic expectations for the future eased somewhat. Four of five components of the Index firmed. Nonetheless, the measure remained well below the four-year peak achieved in November 2024 (112.8)."

Source: The Conference Board

This consumer confidence report covers February, but it lines up with some recent consumer activity. For example, as SBE Council noted, "Retail and food services sales growth in December 2025 came in flat at 0.0 percent, according to the latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau. Factor inflation in, though, and December experienced a real decline in retail and food services sales."

In addition, there were mixed numbers on personal consumption expenditures in the fourth quarter GDP data.

Even with poor confidence numbers, consumers have been resilient since the first quarter of 2023. As I've noted before, consumer activity often can diverge from consumer sentiments. Though their personal consumption accounts for nearly 70 percent of GDP, consumers are ulitimately followers. That is, consumer spending largely depends upon whether or not businesses are being created, investing, growing, and hiring.

Raymond J. Keating is chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. He is the author of " The Weekly Economist " book series, and 10 Points from Walt Disney on Entrepreneurship .