The analysis, based on data from Experian Simmons and Experian Hitwise, found that from Spring 2007 to Summer 2008, the percentage of U.S. adults who felt they would be financially better off in the next year dropped considerably from 46% to 37%.

The analysis, which compared the self-reported economic confidence and spending habits of U.S. adult Americans along with online site traffic and searches on major purchase items, revealed consumer behaviors to be a strong indicator of a downturn months before the current economic crisis. Not only did the percentage of confident consumers slump, but the number of adults who felt they would be worse off in the coming year grew by 9 percent to 22%.

The analysis also found that:

• Households earning $250,000 or more were the fastest to abandon the notion they would be somewhat or significantly better off in the coming year, dropping by 40% from Spring 2007 to Summer 2008.
• Middle- and upper-middle-income Americans ($50,000 to $249,000) had the largest declines among those who planned to purchase big or medium-ticket items within the next month, falling nearly 25%
• From October 2006 to October 2008, overall visits to retail Web sites slowed, with a 4 percent year-over-year decline
• During the same time period, overall visits to Web sites in the travel category were down 10% year-over-year
• Online searches for major electronic items saw significant, year-over-year decreases, with "televisions" down 33%, "laptops" down 48% and "computers" down 57%
• While online interest in big-ticket purchases decreased, visits to grocery Web sites are up 29%, and visits to coupon Web sites are up 27%.