A reported increase in consumer confidence may be a side effect of recent political turmoil, according to the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce.

A recent survey by Total Research Associates showed the Consumer Confidence Index had risen 14 points in the last three months the first rise in almost two years.

That confidence isn't being demonstrated in Bermuda's stores, both the Chamber and Total Research Associates agreed.

According to the Chamber's executive Vice President, Diane Gordon, the increase recorded in the survey is a "false positive" caused by a summer of political controversy.

"The reason that the economy is not foremost in people's minds is because there have been considerable distractions over a sustained period of time regarding political issues," said Mrs. Gordon. "There's been a ton of stuff, negative stuff, coming out of the political arena. Because of that, there's not been a lot of focus on the economy."

Despite the reported rise in consumer confidence, the Chamber of Commerce said that Bermudian businesses are preparing themselves for a tough time.

"The level of consumer confidence is not reflected in the level of retail sales for the past quarter nor is it reflected in the level of employment in Bermuda," said Mrs. Gordon. "Some industries are working shorter hours in an effort to keep redundancies to a minimum."

Graham Redford, President and CEO of Total Research Associates, agreed that while the survey shows consumer confidence has increased, buying habits have not significantly changed.

"Survey results show that despite consumer confidence in the future, their future purchase intentions for a major item, such as a car or large appliance, are generally consistent with those reported in the first quarter of the year, with four in ten residents believing that buying conditions are worse than a year ago," said Mr. Redford.

"Regarding redundancies, although there have been some public announcements of redundancies, only a small portion of the population has been directly impacted."

Mr. Redford said that, according to the survey, 87 percent reported that no one in their household had been made redundant, temporarily laid off, or had working hours reduced in the last three months, a figure that was up from the first quarter.

According to Ms Gordon, Bermuda needs to come together to help turn around the economy, saying.

"The economy needs to be the primary focus," said Mrs. Gordon. "All parties, businesses and the community as a whole should be focused on the state of the economy and efforts to improve the economy.

"This goes beyond political partisanship and manoeuvring."