- Mark Dolliver, Adweek

Earlier in the year, consumers seem encouraged by the mere fact that, bad as things were, the world had not actually come to an end. In late spring, though, as the job market stubbornly refused to show signs of recovery, consumers shifted back toward the pessimism that had been their predominant mood throughout 2009.

Now, the July edition of a monthly poll by consulting/research firm SAGE: Survival and Growth Enterprises finds an uptick in the number of respondents who say they're "actively shopping" for a number of big-ticket items -- a tentative sign their spirits could be recovering from their latest swoon.

Active interest in buying a personal computer illustrates the point. Fielded in the first 10 days of this month, the polling found 10 percent of respondents saying they're "actively shopping" for a personal computer. That puts the figure back were it was in May, before it tumbled to 6 percent in June.

The pattern is similar with respect to buying a used car. Eight percent in the new poll (summarized on the 8sages.com site) said they're actively shopping for one, up from 4 percent last month -- though still down a percentage point from May's 9 percent. There was a gain of a single percentage point (from 4 percent to 5 percent) in the proportion of respondents actively shopping for a new car, but that leaves the figure below May's 8 percent. When it comes to color TV, 11 percent in this month's poll said they're actively shopping for one, up from 8 percent in June and 10 percent in May.

This mildly positive trend is not evident in all categories, though. Confirming that the housing market remains anemic, the number who said they're actively shopping for a house has drifted down to 4 percent, vs. 6 percent in June and 5 percent in May.

The "actively shopping" figure for major appliances remained stuck at 8 percent, where it was in June, after having stood at 10 percent in May. There has been a rise in the percentage of respondents who are actively shopping for furniture (from 9 percent in May to 11 percent in June to 12 percent this month), perhaps as people who are resigned to staying in their current house spend a bit of money to freshen it up.