Consumer confidence plummeted to an all-time low in October as Wall Street turmoil hit consumers on Main Street.  

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index plunged to 38 in October from 61.4 in September, falling far below economists' expectations of 55. 

The decline was due mostly to the turmoil that has hit the financial sector in recent months.

"The impact of the financial crisis over the last several weeks has clearly taken a toll on consumers' confidence," said Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. 

According to High Frequency Economics Chief U.S. Economist Ian Shepherdson, the "astonishing plunge in gas prices" could offset some of the decline in consumer confidence caused by market turmoil.  Still, Shepherdson remains pessimistic about consumer sentiment. 

"Make no mistake ... these [consumer confidence] numbers are extraordinarily awful," Shepherdson wrote in a research note. 

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Since consumers generally make purchases based on their expectations of the future, this report could be an early indicator of slowing personal spending going forward. 

"[Consumers'] earnings outlook, as well as inflation outlook, is ... more pessimistic, and this news does not bode well for retailers who are already bracing for what is shaping up to be a very challenging holiday season," Franco said. 

The so-called labor market differential, which is a measure of people's perception of job availability, was also hit in October, falling 8.7 percentage points from September. Economists point to this metric as further evidence the labor market is deteriorating. 

"As one would expect ... the labor market details of the survey were not good," JPMorgan economist Abiel Reinhart wrote in a research note. "That is an indicator that the unemployment rate likely increased again in October."