Consumer Confidence Edges Up Slightly

* 48.6 percent said they’ve become more practical in their purchasing, down from last month (50 percent), but still significantly higher than August ’07 (37.9 percent);

* 54 percent said they expect more layoffs in the next six months, down more than eight points from July (62.3 percent); 37.7 percent believe layoff levels will remain the same, up from 31.2 percent last month; and just 8.3 percent foresee fewer, up from 6.5 percent in July; (more than half of respondents to a CatalogSuccess.com poll this month indicated that they’ve had to lay people off this year);