Optimism toward the pandemic continues to increase and at the same time this month we record a substantial increase in optimism toward the direction of the economy and consumers’ personal finances in the near future. However, 2 in 3 consumers continue to report being more budget conscious than they were last month and the intent to scale back spending across several categories persists. What optimism toward the economy is fueling is the desire to shop more online and shop for brand name products.​