Granite Staters Optimistic About Economy

While Granite Staters appear to be optimistic about the nation’s economy and their personal finances, that optimism does not extend to plans for holiday shopping. According to a poll by New England College in Henniker, 47.8 percent of Granite Staters said they agreed that the US economy will be stronger in the coming year. Respondents also indicated they are hopeful about their own personal finances. 42.6 percent of Granite Staters said they agreed that their personal finances will be stronger in the coming year.

Dr. Wayne Lesperance, professor of political science at New England College and director of the Polling Institute said, “Optimism about the economy and personal finances does not appear to translate into big increases in holiday spending. When asked about their shopping plans this holiday season, 52.4 percent of respondents said they’d be spending less and 27.5 percent said they’d be spending about the same. Only 20.1 percent said they would be spending more.”

“Interestingly, in New Hampshire, holiday shoppers don’t want shopping on Thanksgiving,” added Lesperance. “We asked Granite Staters if they thought stores should be open on Thanksgiving Day and they replied overwhelmingly, no."

In fact, according to the poll, 76.1 percent of respondents said that stores should be closed on Thanksgiving, while only 8.2 percent said that they should be open. When it comes to shopping locally, 39.4 percent of respondents said they planned on doing some holiday shopping at locally-owned stores and 73.5 percent of Granite Staters said they plan on purchasing online this holiday season.

There’s good news for Granite State children. There’s still time to do your wish list. According to Lesperance, “Over half of our respondents (53.6 percent) say they haven’t started their holiday shopping. Another 24.3 percent are about a quarter finished, and 11 percent are halfway done."

This New England College Poll was conducted on November 20 and 21, 2014 using Interactive Voice Response technology, an automated polling system. A total of 563 responses were obtained. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 4.13 percent. For additional information, including previous NEC Polling Institute polls, visit www.nec.edu/about/centers-other-locations/the-nec-polling-institute.