Canadian consumers remain much more confident in their economy than their U.S. counterparts and their intention to shop remains much steadier, shows newly released data from The NPD Group.

According a report on consumer attitudes and spending released Tuesday, Canadians rank their confidence in the economy at a level of approximately 44 on a scale of zero to 100 (with zero indicating they are very concerned and 100 indicating they are very confident).

On the same scale, Canadians ranked their own personal financial situation at approximately 50, indicating they are more concerned with the overall economy rather than their own personal financial situation. A similar scale on retail intentions shows Canadians are as likely to spend less as they are to spend more.

“What’s encouraging to note is that there has not been a significant decline in Canadians’ intentions to spend between December 2008 and March 2009,” says Dee Warmath, vp of retail insights for The NPD Group.

“The Retail Response Indicator is so flat in Canada that it is impossible to tell if moods are on an upswing or a downswing. Combine this with the relatively stable economic perceptions and we can speculate that Canadians are putting spending on hold, perhaps bracing for the worst of the economic storm or simply being cautious until the worst is over.”

The numbers are a far cry from consumer responses south of the border where the gap for concern over the economy and respondents’ own personal financial situations was much narrower and overall confidence for both the economy and personal finances was much lower.

Using the same scale, U.S. consumers’ confidence in the economy dropped slightly from 37.4 to 35.9 since December of last year, while their confidence in personal situation dropped from 39.8 to 37.2. While their intent to spend remains steady at approximately 36, this relatively low score indicates U.S. consumers are more inclined to suggest they plan to spend less.

In general, Canadian markers are significantly higher across the board for the three indicators — general economic perception, personal economic perception and retail response — signaling a much higher consumer confidence in Canada.

The data can be attributed to the lesser impact the global economic downturn has had on the Canadian economy relative to the U.S., the report says. The larger gap between the personal and general economic indicators in Canada compared to the U.S. can be attributed to fewer industries/sectors having been directly affected by the recession in Canada and therefore touching fewer Canadian consumers than American.

“The data shows that despite relatively positive sentiment compared to Americans, Canadians appear to remain cautious about their spending,” said Warmath. “That being said, Canadians by nature are known to be more conservative in their spending and it is anybody’s guess what will happen over the next several months. Canadians are certainly poised to return to a more positive outlook much quicker than Americans.”

IE