Consumer confidence declines as Trump marks 100 days; ‘A lot of uncertainty,’ UNL prof says

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — As President Donald Trump marks his 100th day in office, more and more families are concerned for their wallets.

According to a report released Tuesday, consumer confidence is at its lowest since May 2020.

Edward Balistreri, an economics professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said people are worried about the impact of tariffs.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of durable purchases that consumers are pulling up front to try and avoid the tariffs. If you look at the consumption data and the import data, it’s surging. That really is an effort to avoid substantial tariffs.”

One of the biggest concerns on consumers’ minds is grocery prices. Balistreri said this is no surprise.

“As far as grocery store prices, the tariffs are not going to help,” he said. “But I think the overall impact is we’re going to see higher prices. And at that point, we’re going to see consumption drop off pretty significantly.”

Lincoln father Richard Harris said he’s worried about the price increases but hopeful for the future.

“I’ve seen a big jump in prices, but to fix prices, it’ll take time to fix things like that,” he said. “One person can’t just fix prices right off the bat.”

Harris said last year, he started using coupons.

“I can save a lot from it, but it’s hard to find those deals,” he said.