North Carolina Consumer Sentiment Is Improving, But Inflation Is Still a Concern

Inflation is still on the minds of North Carolinians interviewed for the latest High Point University Poll.

North Carolinians were asked to consider how the prices they are currently paying for products compared to last year. A majority (54%) said they are paying a much higher price for eggs. Less than half of the poll respondents said they are paying a much higher price for meat (49%), electricity for their houses (39%), fruits and vegetables (38%), gas for their cars (35%), milk (35%), bread (34%), electronics (33%), clothing (31%), natural gas for their houses (29%), water (28%) and toys (25%).

“North Carolinians continue to report high prices, but they are not always concerned about the same purchases,” said Dr. Martin Kifer, chair of political science and director of HPU’s Survey Research Center. “Right now, ‘egg-flation’ is a reality again, but concerns about gas prices have declined.”

Consumer Sentiment Is Not High, But Is Increasing

According to this latest poll, the Consumer Sentiment Index shows that North Carolinians’ opinions about the economy and their personal finances have changed somewhat in recent months and was calculated to be 78.1. That number appears to have changed from September 2024 when it was 70.2 and November 2024 when it was 73.8. This is the highest reading of the index since October 2019. The index appears to have been increasing since it was 62.5 in May 2023.

“We are watching this index number carefully,” Kifer said. “The rebound in consumer sentiment has not been particularly dramatic, but it has been increasing for a while. The big question is whether it will continue to climb.”

The HPU Poll’s measure of consumer sentiment is an index that comprises five separate questions asking respondents about different aspects of how they view the U.S. economy and their own personal finances.

“Consumer sentiment is the fuel for the economy,” said Dr. Nasir Assar, associate professor of economics and director of the MBA program in HPU’s Earl N. Phillips School of Business. “When confidence is high, spending grows; when fear takes hold, even the strongest markets can stumble. Perception often shapes reality in the world of business.”

North Carolina Residents – Prices Currently Paying (January 2025)

Thinking about the prices you are currently paying for products on this list compared to last year, would you say prices are much higher, somewhat higher, about the same as last year, somewhat lower or much lower? [Items presented in a random order]

January 2025 Consumer Sentiment Index Results:

We are interested in how people are getting along financially these days. Would you say that you (and your family living there) are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago?

Better off – 24%
Worse off – 41%
Same/Neither – 33%
Unsure – 3%

Now looking ahead, do you think that a year from now you (and your family living there) will be better off financially, or worse off, or just about the same as now.

Better off – 42%
Worse off – 20%
About the same – 30%
Unsure – 9%

Now turning to business conditions in the country as a whole, do you think that during the next 12 months we’ll have good times financially, or bad times, or what?

Good times – 29%
Bad times – 18%
Neither – 28%
Good times with qualifications – 14%
Bad times with qualifications – 5%
Unsure – 7%

Looking ahead, which would you say is more likely, that in the country as a whole we’ll have continuous good times during the next five years or so, or that we have periods of widespread unemployment or depression, or what?

Widespread unemployment or depression – 18%
Continuous good times – 25%
Neither/Mix of both – 50%
Unsure – 7%

About the big things people buy for their homes, such as furniture, a refrigerator, stove, television and things like that. Generally speaking, do you think now is a good time or bad time for people to buy major household items?

Good time – 26%
Bad time – 34%
Neither good time nor bad time – 33%
Unsure – 8%

HPU Poll 109 was fielded by the High Point University Survey Research Center on Jan. 16-26, 2025, as an online survey using a panel of respondents recruited and maintained by Dynata. Dynata sent invitations to its panel of North Carolina respondents and the SRC collected 1,000 responses (an all-adults sample) on its Qualtrics platform. All respondents were asked two screening questions to identify them as registered voters. A total of 839 respondents identified themselves as registered voters. The SRC did all data analysis. The online sample is from a panel of respondents, and their participation does not adhere to usual assumptions associated with random selection. Therefore, it is not appropriate to assign a classic margin of sampling error for the results. In this case, for the all-adults sample, the SRC provides a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points to account for a traditional 95% confidence interval for the estimates (plus or minus 3.1 percentage points) and a design effect of 1.03 (based on the weighting).