Accessible Version

A Better Way of Understanding the US Consumer: Decomposing Retail Spending by Household Income, Accessible Data

Figure 1. Retail sales: total excluding motor vehicles and parts (seasonally adjusted)

Index, 2019=100

Date Census Retail Sales, Nominal (Solid Line) Census Retail Sales, Inflation Adjusted (Dashed line) Pre-Pandemic Trend (Dotted Line)
01/01/2015 84.49 85.41 84.79
02/01/2015 84.62 85.23 85.10
03/01/2015 85.27 85.68 85.40
04/01/2015 85.35 85.80 85.71
05/01/2015 85.97 86.07 86.02
06/01/2015 86.10 86.08 86.32
07/01/2015 86.90 86.94 86.63
08/01/2015 86.77 87.01 86.94
09/01/2015 86.15 86.78 87.24
10/01/2015 86.06 86.83 87.55
11/01/2015 86.23 87.09 87.85
12/01/2015 86.79 87.99 88.16
01/01/2016 86.10 87.52 88.47
02/01/2016 86.62 88.39 88.77
03/01/2016 86.74 88.32 89.08
04/01/2016 87.13 88.32 89.38
05/01/2016 87.44 88.67 89.69
06/01/2016 88.45 89.65 90.00
07/01/2016 87.95 89.48 90.30
08/01/2016 87.99 89.52 90.61
09/01/2016 88.50 89.77 90.92
10/01/2016 88.81 89.96 91.22
11/01/2016 88.86 90.27 91.53
12/01/2016 89.56 90.88 91.83
01/01/2017 90.83 91.68 92.14
02/01/2017 90.96 91.81 92.45
03/01/2017 91.24 92.15 92.75
04/01/2017 91.55 92.52 93.06
05/01/2017 90.88 92.21 93.36
06/01/2017 91.12 92.62 93.67
07/01/2017 91.09 92.69 93.98
08/01/2017 91.82 93.17 94.28
09/01/2017 93.19 94.05 94.59
10/01/2017 93.18 94.10 94.89
11/01/2017 94.65 95.49 95.20
12/01/2017 95.32 96.12 95.51
01/01/2018 94.92 95.26 95.81
02/01/2018 95.69 95.94 96.12
03/01/2018 95.56 95.96 96.43
04/01/2018 95.90 96.03 96.73
05/01/2018 97.28 97.28 97.04
06/01/2018 96.95 97.04 97.34
07/01/2018 97.57 97.71 97.65
08/01/2018 97.70 97.88 97.96
09/01/2018 97.39 97.43 98.26
10/01/2018 98.58 98.48 98.57
11/01/2018 98.74 98.87 98.87
12/01/2018 95.97 96.40 99.18
01/01/2019 97.48 97.92 99.49
02/01/2019 97.35 97.66 99.79
03/01/2019 98.59 98.71 100.10
04/01/2019 99.23 99.03 100.40
05/01/2019 99.66 99.47 100.71
06/01/2019 99.91 99.91 101.02
07/01/2019 100.84 100.85 101.32
08/01/2019 101.05 101.08 101.63
09/01/2019 100.87 100.88 101.94
10/01/2019 101.27 101.12 102.24
11/01/2019 101.41 101.32 102.55
12/01/2019 102.35 102.06 102.85
01/01/2020 102.85 102.48 103.16
02/01/2020 102.69 102.36 103.47
03/01/2020 97.66 98.03 103.77
04/01/2020 83.35 84.24 104.08
05/01/2020 93.98 95.05 104.38
06/01/2020 102.14 102.94 104.69
07/01/2020 104.32 104.69 105.00
08/01/2020 105.31 105.01 105.30
09/01/2020 107.03 106.55 105.61
10/01/2020 106.72 106.20 105.91
11/01/2020 105.80 105.23 106.22
12/01/2020 106.47 105.35 106.53
01/01/2021 110.91 109.25 106.83
02/01/2021 108.13 106.27 107.14
03/01/2021 118.09 115.55 107.45
04/01/2021 118.82 115.07 107.75
05/01/2021 117.98 113.14 108.06
06/01/2021 120.48 114.33 108.36
07/01/2021 119.26 112.55 108.67
08/01/2021 121.05 113.45 108.98
09/01/2021 121.68 113.56 109.28
10/01/2021 123.59 113.98 109.59
11/01/2021 124.76 114.03 109.89
12/01/2021 124.20 112.44 110.20
01/01/2022 125.24 112.42 110.51
02/01/2022 126.64 112.72 110.81
03/01/2022 130.19 114.76 111.12
04/01/2022 131.85 116.06 111.42
05/01/2022 132.65 115.75 111.73
06/01/2022 133.73 115.21 112.04
07/01/2022 133.12 114.98 112.34
08/01/2022 133.25 115.02 112.65
09/01/2022 133.07 114.77 112.96
10/01/2022 134.47 115.51 113.26
11/01/2022 133.18 114.54 113.57
12/01/2022 132.33 114.23 113.87
01/01/2023 136.15 116.98 114.18
02/01/2023 135.14 115.98 114.49
03/01/2023 133.68 114.84 114.79
04/01/2023 134.36 114.96 115.10
05/01/2023 134.85 115.27 115.40
06/01/2023 135.01 115.43 115.71
07/01/2023 135.79 116.37 116.02
08/01/2023 136.94 116.64 116.32
09/01/2023 137.94 117.36 116.63
10/01/2023 138.00 117.63 116.94
11/01/2023 137.98 117.95 117.24
12/01/2023 138.44 118.49 117.55
01/01/2024 137.32 117.70 117.85
02/01/2024 137.80 117.66 118.16
03/01/2024 138.63 118.25 118.47
04/01/2024 138.71 118.12 118.77
05/01/2024 138.75 118.44 119.08
06/01/2024 139.44 119.18 119.38
07/01/2024 140.03 119.76 119.69
08/01/2024 140.14 119.86 120.00

Note: Retail sales in solid blue line, retail sales adjusted for inflation in dashed orange line, and pre-pandemic trend for retail sales adjusted for inflation in dotted red line. Inflation adjustment uses the chain indexed PCE deflator for goods and food services excluding motor vehicles. The data are monthly from January 2015 through August 2024. Values are indexed to 100 in 2019.

Source: FRED, retail sales series code: RSFSXMV. PCE deflator used to inflation-adjust is based on authors’ calculation.

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Figure 2. Retail sales, total excluding motor vehicles and parts constructed using Census Bureau estimates and Numerator panel data (seasonally-adjusted and inflation-adjusted)

Index, 2019=100

Date Census series, SA (Solid line) Numerator series, using authors' SA methods (Dashed line) Census series, using authors' SA methods (Dash-dotted line)
01/01/2018 95.86 97.33 95.26
02/01/2018 97.11 98.48 95.94
03/01/2018 97.49 98.65 95.96
04/01/2018 96.06 97.52 96.03
05/01/2018 96.81 99.02 97.28
06/01/2018 96.79 98.65 97.04
07/01/2018 97.02 98.43 97.71
08/01/2018 97.09 99.86 97.88
09/01/2018 97.50 99.77 97.43
10/01/2018 97.37 98.47 98.48
11/01/2018 98.46 100.35 98.87
12/01/2018 97.40 99.85 96.40
01/01/2019 98.34 100.02 97.92
02/01/2019 98.73 99.81 97.66
03/01/2019 98.26 100.90 98.71
04/01/2019 99.77 99.73 99.03
05/01/2019 98.91 100.10 99.47
06/01/2019 100.05 99.17 99.91
07/01/2019 100.62 100.25 100.85
08/01/2019 100.93 99.98 101.08
09/01/2019 100.85 99.38 100.88
10/01/2019 100.31 100.17 101.12
11/01/2019 100.34 99.14 101.32
12/01/2019 102.89 101.34 102.06
01/01/2020 102.14 101.18 102.48
02/01/2020 103.05 101.49 102.36
03/01/2020 98.01 99.55 98.03
04/01/2020 85.96 93.61 84.24
05/01/2020 93.34 100.56 95.05
06/01/2020 103.27 105.24 102.94
07/01/2020 104.39 104.20 104.69
08/01/2020 104.41 103.96 105.01
09/01/2020 105.62 105.64 106.55
10/01/2020 105.56 105.09 106.20
11/01/2020 105.04 106.19 105.23
12/01/2020 104.60 104.91 105.35
01/01/2021 107.95 107.92 109.25
02/01/2021 106.56 107.83 106.27
03/01/2021 116.70 116.23 115.55
04/01/2021 115.41 116.93 115.07
05/01/2021 113.91 115.65 113.14
06/01/2021 114.27 114.74 114.33
07/01/2021 113.42 112.89 112.55
08/01/2021 112.83 114.01 113.45
09/01/2021 113.69 114.64 113.56
10/01/2021 112.60 112.78 113.98
11/01/2021 114.20 113.99 114.03
12/01/2021 112.55 112.68 112.44
01/01/2022 111.64 112.08 112.42
02/01/2022 111.35 111.96 112.72
03/01/2022 115.60 113.54 114.76
04/01/2022 116.44 113.52 116.06
05/01/2022 116.31 113.30 115.75
06/01/2022 116.36 112.88 115.21
07/01/2022 114.74 114.98 114.98
08/01/2022 115.11 113.86 115.02
09/01/2022 114.36 112.64 114.77
10/01/2022 115.38 114.87 115.51
11/01/2022 113.74 113.06 114.54
12/01/2022 115.03 115.23 114.23
01/01/2023 115.19 115.40 116.98
02/01/2023 114.09 114.87 115.98
03/01/2023 115.41 114.50 114.84
04/01/2023 115.19 114.02 114.96
05/01/2023 116.00 115.50 115.27
06/01/2023 115.71 114.88 115.43
07/01/2023 116.84 117.41 116.37
08/01/2023 116.81 116.61 116.64
09/01/2023 116.37 117.37 117.36
10/01/2023 117.04 118.22 117.63
11/01/2023 118.23 119.19 117.95
12/01/2023 118.59 119.31 118.49
01/01/2024 116.58 117.85 117.70
02/01/2024 117.26 118.15 117.66
03/01/2024 118.22 119.87 118.25
04/01/2024 118.27 120.30 118.12
05/01/2024 119.08 120.63 118.44
06/01/2024 118.80 119.72 119.18
07/01/2024 120.29 119.22 119.76
08/01/2024 120.25 119.86 119.86

Note: The solid red line is the Census Bureau’s seasonally-adjusted retail sales series excluding motor vehicles and parts. The dashed blue line is the retail spending measure we construct from the Numerator data, which we seasonally adjust. The dashed gray line is the non-seasonally adjusted Census series that we then seasonally adjust. The data are monthly from January 2018 through August 2024. Authors’ seasonal adjustment method uses X13-ARIMA-SEATS. Inflation adjustment uses the chain indexed PCE deflator for goods and food services excluding motor vehicles. All three lines are indexed to 100 in 2019.

Source: Census Bureau and Numerator. PCE deflator used to inflation-adjust is based on authors’ calculation.

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Figure 3. Growth of average retail spending overall and decomposed by household income (seasonally-adjusted and inflation-adjusted)

% Change, Jan 2018=0

Date All groups (Solid line) Low Income $0-60K (Long dashed line) Middle Income $60K-100K (Dash-dotted line) High Income $100K+ (Short dashed line)
01/01/2018 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
02/01/2018 2.10 3.42 1.13 1.29
03/01/2018 1.88 3.85 0.37 1.90
04/01/2018 1.74 -0.64 0.33 2.06
05/01/2018 2.23 1.20 1.30 2.41
06/01/2018 2.65 1.16 1.18 2.33
07/01/2018 1.29 0.37 -0.57 2.02
08/01/2018 3.73 4.06 1.85 2.98
09/01/2018 3.16 2.92 1.61 2.87
10/01/2018 1.17 1.08 -0.83 1.17
11/01/2018 4.28 3.56 3.44 3.49
12/01/2018 2.82 3.16 1.20 2.46
01/01/2019 2.75 2.39 1.78 3.24
02/01/2019 2.89 2.20 2.43 3.04
03/01/2019 3.33 1.85 1.85 3.33
04/01/2019 2.84 2.42 1.99 4.18
05/01/2019 3.14 0.06 2.35 4.43
06/01/2019 1.34 1.02 0.34 1.93
07/01/2019 2.17 1.21 1.32 2.92
08/01/2019 3.27 0.39 2.73 3.88
09/01/2019 1.29 1.15 0.57 1.67
10/01/2019 2.64 2.64 1.42 2.29
11/01/2019 2.00 0.73 0.16 2.08
12/01/2019 3.02 3.04 1.55 3.94
01/01/2020 4.15 2.98 2.59 5.18
02/01/2020 2.52 2.07 1.32 3.90
03/01/2020 -0.89 -0.91 -1.94 1.15
04/01/2020 -1.88 0.14 -4.39 -2.61
05/01/2020 2.95 4.43 0.34 1.31
06/01/2020 6.95 8.75 5.37 6.38
07/01/2020 7.21 9.01 5.15 5.70
08/01/2020 5.65 6.40 4.26 6.02
09/01/2020 7.85 8.51 5.46 8.32
10/01/2020 8.60 6.25 6.59 9.72
11/01/2020 8.15 9.13 6.21 8.93
12/01/2020 7.66 8.35 5.71 7.91
01/01/2021 10.98 11.14 9.67 10.28
02/01/2021 10.80 9.71 8.96 11.85
03/01/2021 15.60 22.33 14.81 13.56
04/01/2021 15.08 13.94 13.67 14.58
05/01/2021 10.73 11.42 9.52 11.07
06/01/2021 10.24 10.36 9.00 10.85
07/01/2021 9.52 8.50 8.69 9.35
08/01/2021 9.19 9.56 7.47 9.95
09/01/2021 10.44 10.01 9.73 11.35
10/01/2021 9.05 6.92 8.28 10.16
11/01/2021 9.57 7.87 8.34 11.55
12/01/2021 9.06 7.10 8.50 10.48
01/01/2022 7.52 6.13 6.69 9.52
02/01/2022 8.07 5.44 7.52 9.85
03/01/2022 8.39 6.40 7.72 10.58
04/01/2022 9.31 7.05 9.66 11.96
05/01/2022 7.96 5.89 7.92 10.47
06/01/2022 8.10 6.29 7.25 10.57
07/01/2022 10.35 6.62 9.80 13.52
08/01/2022 8.38 5.94 7.66 11.19
09/01/2022 7.99 4.57 7.32 10.74
10/01/2022 9.33 7.63 9.37 11.65
11/01/2022 7.56 4.81 7.19 10.22
12/01/2022 10.06 6.57 9.40 12.80
01/01/2023 9.46 7.19 8.89 12.12
02/01/2023 9.77 6.72 9.29 11.90
03/01/2023 7.88 5.07 7.50 11.29
04/01/2023 8.97 5.90 8.36 12.29
05/01/2023 9.16 6.18 8.68 12.36
06/01/2023 9.64 3.88 9.20 13.29
07/01/2023 11.04 6.99 10.71 14.78
08/01/2023 10.67 6.22 9.75 14.55
09/01/2023 11.48 6.22 10.64 15.22
10/01/2023 11.80 8.25 10.75 15.85
11/01/2023 13.23 8.64 12.49 17.04
12/01/2023 13.31 7.50 12.61 17.28
01/01/2024 11.95 6.98 10.60 15.81
02/01/2024 11.66 7.56 10.22 15.42
03/01/2024 13.57 9.99 12.13 17.25
04/01/2024 14.32 9.31 13.02 17.31
05/01/2024 15.46 9.41 13.59 18.95
06/01/2024 13.42 7.45 11.89 16.42
07/01/2024 13.09 7.64 11.15 15.89
08/01/2024 14.69 7.89 13.31 16.72

Note: The data are monthly from January 2018 through August 2024. All series are adjusted for inflation using the chain indexed PCE deflator for goods and food services excluding motor vehicles and are shown as growth relative to January 2018. All series are seasonally adjusted using X13-ARIMA-SEATS.

Source: Based on authors’ calculations using Numerator data.

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Figure 4. Growth of average retail spending overall and decomposed by education (seasonally-adjusted and inflation-adjusted)

% Change, Jan 2018=0

Date All groups (Solid line) High School or Less (Long dashed line) Some College or Undergrad Degree (Dash-dotted line) Some Grad School or Grad Degree (Short dashed line)
01/01/2018 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
02/01/2018 2.18 4.82 2.20 0.04
03/01/2018 1.82 3.22 1.99 -0.69
04/01/2018 1.65 1.02 2.03 -0.54
05/01/2018 2.22 3.63 2.09 0.15
06/01/2018 2.77 4.07 2.52 2.54
07/01/2018 1.14 0.62 0.95 2.08
08/01/2018 3.76 6.15 3.61 3.02
09/01/2018 3.22 3.76 3.05 2.20
10/01/2018 0.75 -0.02 0.88 -0.10
11/01/2018 3.89 4.85 3.74 2.95
12/01/2018 2.49 3.51 2.14 1.80
01/01/2019 2.73 2.27 2.94 2.60
02/01/2019 2.82 1.62 2.77 4.16
03/01/2019 3.45 2.02 3.64 3.41
04/01/2019 3.02 -0.22 3.28 3.65
05/01/2019 3.19 0.57 3.58 3.05
06/01/2019 1.14 -1.51 1.78 2.01
07/01/2019 2.39 -0.34 2.80 4.02
08/01/2019 3.37 1.24 3.55 5.64
09/01/2019 1.28 -0.41 1.85 0.23
10/01/2019 2.85 0.41 3.54 1.92
11/01/2019 2.22 0.92 2.67 1.27
12/01/2019 3.15 0.34 3.87 2.98
01/01/2020 4.23 2.80 4.19 5.65
02/01/2020 2.56 0.65 2.74 4.28
03/01/2020 -0.93 -4.78 -0.53 1.59
04/01/2020 -2.00 -4.37 -1.31 -4.51
05/01/2020 2.90 1.63 3.51 -0.46
06/01/2020 7.01 5.11 7.27 8.28
07/01/2020 7.18 5.31 7.93 6.74
08/01/2020 5.65 2.12 6.29 7.15
09/01/2020 7.83 4.28 8.21 9.32
10/01/2020 8.68 4.80 8.87 11.02
11/01/2020 8.26 4.69 8.90 8.93
12/01/2020 7.72 4.07 8.28 8.92
01/01/2021 11.00 8.66 11.62 10.72
02/01/2021 10.84 6.72 11.32 12.63
03/01/2021 15.66 15.04 15.83 16.89
04/01/2021 15.09 13.19 15.17 13.32
05/01/2021 10.77 7.41 11.26 10.65
06/01/2021 10.33 6.70 10.84 12.38
07/01/2021 9.55 7.16 9.98 10.44
08/01/2021 9.17 5.46 9.62 11.13
09/01/2021 10.51 6.39 10.86 12.79
10/01/2021 9.15 5.61 9.54 10.78
11/01/2021 9.65 5.12 10.06 12.16
12/01/2021 9.18 5.21 9.54 11.37
01/01/2022 7.59 3.36 8.10 9.58
02/01/2022 8.16 3.51 8.76 9.91
03/01/2022 8.50 4.43 8.82 10.57
04/01/2022 9.39 5.89 9.61 12.08
05/01/2022 8.02 3.28 8.33 10.69
06/01/2022 8.19 4.61 8.32 11.31
07/01/2022 10.46 5.43 10.68 14.93
08/01/2022 8.42 2.82 8.69 13.02
09/01/2022 8.05 3.31 8.43 11.12
10/01/2022 9.48 6.08 9.63 11.98
11/01/2022 7.69 2.65 8.04 11.15
12/01/2022 10.21 5.34 10.67 13.24
01/01/2023 9.58 4.81 9.94 12.67
02/01/2023 9.88 5.00 10.45 11.84
03/01/2023 7.97 1.84 8.72 12.21
04/01/2023 9.15 3.24 9.92 11.65
05/01/2023 9.29 3.42 9.88 12.74
06/01/2023 9.75 3.53 10.30 14.21
07/01/2023 11.19 5.96 11.40 15.83
08/01/2023 10.76 4.86 11.49 14.12
09/01/2023 11.61 6.24 12.22 14.53
10/01/2023 11.96 6.30 12.58 15.59
11/01/2023 13.40 7.10 13.91 17.62
12/01/2023 13.50 7.40 13.97 17.67
01/01/2024 12.04 6.04 12.62 15.77
02/01/2024 11.77 5.90 12.23 16.12
03/01/2024 13.71 7.62 14.04 17.57
04/01/2024 14.52 10.07 14.58 19.74
05/01/2024 15.71 9.80 15.93 20.63
06/01/2024 13.65 7.17 14.29 17.61
07/01/2024 13.30 6.98 14.02 17.41
08/01/2024 15.00 8.92 15.44 19.37

Note: The data are monthly from January 2018 through August 2024. All series are adjusted for inflation using the chain indexed PCE deflator for goods and food services excluding motor vehicles and are shown as growth relative to January 2018. All series are seasonally adjusted using X13-ARIMA-SEATS.

Source: Based on authors’ calculations using Numerator data.

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Figure 5. Growth of average retail spending overall and decomposed by generation (seasonally-adjusted and inflation-adjusted)

% Change, Jan 2018=0

Date All groups (Solid line) Baby Boomers (Long dashed line) Gen X (Dash-dotted line) Millennials (Short dashed line) Gen Z (Dotted line)
01/01/2018 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
02/01/2018 2.09 1.20 1.31 2.74 0.71
03/01/2018 1.83 1.41 1.27 1.70 -1.28
04/01/2018 1.69 0.72 1.39 -0.40 -2.91
05/01/2018 2.25 1.83 1.95 2.38 -1.69
06/01/2018 2.78 2.45 1.09 4.13 -0.02
07/01/2018 1.21 1.21 0.44 2.47 -1.28
08/01/2018 3.73 2.68 2.59 5.75 6.35
09/01/2018 3.24 2.28 2.36 5.33 2.10
10/01/2018 0.83 -0.14 0.76 3.04 -5.52
11/01/2018 3.95 2.31 2.52 8.75 2.45
12/01/2018 2.61 2.64 1.99 5.38 0.66
01/01/2019 2.86 1.71 2.58 5.87 0.50
02/01/2019 3.01 1.27 2.04 6.08 1.00
03/01/2019 3.52 0.46 2.65 8.03 1.51
04/01/2019 3.03 -0.89 3.37 6.39 1.79
05/01/2019 3.29 0.21 2.93 8.15 1.88
06/01/2019 1.29 -1.51 1.69 7.73 1.90
07/01/2019 2.48 0.04 3.60 7.79 -1.63
08/01/2019 3.55 0.69 3.49 9.30 -0.15
09/01/2019 1.45 -1.04 2.64 6.84 -2.64
10/01/2019 3.00 0.94 3.18 8.36 2.72
11/01/2019 2.34 1.49 1.58 8.23 1.07
12/01/2019 3.18 2.03 2.80 11.28 -1.05
01/01/2020 4.23 2.82 3.65 10.37 -0.58
02/01/2020 2.65 2.81 3.33 11.43 4.21
03/01/2020 -0.73 -7.55 2.04 8.98 -2.55
04/01/2020 -1.67 -13.30 1.04 9.83 0.52
05/01/2020 3.15 -5.38 4.18 15.12 7.45
06/01/2020 7.19 -1.46 8.26 21.73 12.84
07/01/2020 7.39 -1.79 7.47 23.04 14.25
08/01/2020 5.76 -1.44 7.12 19.26 7.96
09/01/2020 7.92 0.67 8.31 20.73 12.55
10/01/2020 8.78 1.46 8.28 22.74 11.98
11/01/2020 8.44 0.87 9.83 22.95 11.98
12/01/2020 7.88 0.72 8.35 21.87 11.65
01/01/2021 11.14 4.28 10.25 25.83 15.56
02/01/2021 10.97 4.08 10.84 22.76 12.37
03/01/2021 15.74 7.24 17.85 30.36 20.16
04/01/2021 15.13 6.62 15.48 27.61 16.24
05/01/2021 10.80 5.25 11.75 21.51 13.03
06/01/2021 10.36 4.28 11.66 22.23 9.60
07/01/2021 9.52 4.13 9.68 21.03 8.67
08/01/2021 9.22 3.29 9.20 22.73 10.61
09/01/2021 10.55 4.44 11.31 23.71 11.87
10/01/2021 9.20 2.92 8.84 22.69 11.92
11/01/2021 9.70 3.93 9.47 22.75 9.49
12/01/2021 9.24 2.91 8.77 22.90 9.66
01/01/2022 7.64 1.53 7.31 22.19 10.56
02/01/2022 8.16 1.98 7.41 20.24 8.39
03/01/2022 8.51 2.09 8.39 20.95 10.31
04/01/2022 9.39 2.19 9.14 23.04 14.21
05/01/2022 8.04 1.46 8.90 19.64 11.68
06/01/2022 8.19 1.59 8.00 22.36 12.16
07/01/2022 10.49 2.42 10.04 25.92 17.73
08/01/2022 8.48 0.89 9.33 22.80 13.64
09/01/2022 8.10 0.94 8.07 22.83 11.23
10/01/2022 9.46 2.69 10.18 23.89 13.44
11/01/2022 7.64 0.12 7.99 21.17 13.51
12/01/2022 10.27 2.08 9.94 24.30 19.86
01/01/2023 9.62 2.12 9.99 24.25 17.91
02/01/2023 9.94 1.07 9.27 25.68 16.04
03/01/2023 8.03 -0.81 8.65 23.46 16.16
04/01/2023 9.19 0.13 9.96 25.19 16.50
05/01/2023 9.31 0.36 10.03 25.59 14.04
06/01/2023 9.81 0.59 10.33 26.48 12.62
07/01/2023 11.23 2.26 12.77 28.29 15.12
08/01/2023 10.81 1.73 11.66 28.08 14.10
09/01/2023 11.64 2.37 11.93 30.33 18.57
10/01/2023 12.01 2.45 13.21 30.50 19.50
11/01/2023 13.44 4.11 14.93 29.51 18.55
12/01/2023 13.45 4.08 15.22 30.16 17.39
01/01/2024 12.05 3.37 13.61 29.58 15.03
02/01/2024 11.76 4.44 13.84 30.30 17.61
03/01/2024 13.65 4.82 15.63 29.10 17.77
04/01/2024 14.43 5.29 16.31 33.61 16.65
05/01/2024 15.63 5.93 17.53 33.30 18.47
06/01/2024 13.58 4.51 16.47 30.28 16.94
07/01/2024 13.22 4.53 15.39 30.36 15.23
08/01/2024 14.91 6.03 16.42 31.84 16.95

Note: The data are monthly from January 2018 through August 2024. All series are adjusted for inflation using the chain indexed PCE deflator for goods and food services excluding motor vehicles and are shown as growth relative to January 2018. All series are seasonally adjusted using X13-ARIMA-SEATS.

Source: Based on authors’ calculations using Numerator data.

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Figure 6. Growth of average retail spending overall and decomposed by housing status (seasonally-adjusted and inflation-adjusted)

% Change, Jan 2018=0

Date All groups (Solid line) Long Own (Long dashed line) Recent Own (Dash-dotted line) Rent (Short dashed line)
01/01/2018 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
02/01/2018 2.93 1.06 2.21 3.50
03/01/2018 1.67 1.66 2.06 1.38
04/01/2018 1.44 1.59 3.40 -2.87
05/01/2018 1.76 1.70 3.82 -1.04
06/01/2018 2.09 1.73 3.36 0.41
07/01/2018 -0.32 0.23 1.81 -1.34
08/01/2018 2.73 1.93 4.21 1.06
09/01/2018 2.30 1.09 4.85 0.80
10/01/2018 -0.33 -1.03 3.50 -1.88
11/01/2018 2.74 1.26 5.91 0.26
12/01/2018 0.90 0.08 4.38 -0.08
01/01/2019 1.80 0.33 4.40 0.37
02/01/2019 2.09 0.41 4.87 -0.03
03/01/2019 1.57 0.75 4.15 0.03
04/01/2019 1.01 1.18 3.67 0.19
05/01/2019 0.66 1.03 3.18 -3.10
06/01/2019 -1.11 -1.13 1.44 -1.42
07/01/2019 -0.32 0.52 2.38 -0.43
08/01/2019 1.17 0.80 3.21 -1.21
09/01/2019 -1.16 -0.97 0.04 -0.28
10/01/2019 0.63 0.18 2.57 1.22
11/01/2019 0.42 0.05 2.55 -2.39
12/01/2019 1.77 0.86 3.97 0.62
01/01/2020 3.00 2.09 5.27 0.95
02/01/2020 1.10 0.21 3.31 1.81
03/01/2020 -2.08 -3.17 0.48 0.02
04/01/2020 -2.78 -6.23 0.10 2.55
05/01/2020 2.85 -1.81 3.76 4.56
06/01/2020 6.64 2.38 8.24 12.68
07/01/2020 7.58 1.98 8.89 11.63
08/01/2020 5.07 2.05 8.59 7.79
09/01/2020 7.04 4.13 10.09 9.40
10/01/2020 7.82 5.07 9.95 7.69
11/01/2020 7.38 4.83 10.15 10.43
12/01/2020 6.92 4.58 11.03 7.78
01/01/2021 11.04 7.21 12.21 11.86
02/01/2021 10.31 8.09 13.12 10.40
03/01/2021 16.33 11.45 18.56 22.92
04/01/2021 14.82 11.86 16.93 15.00
05/01/2021 10.39 8.25 14.52 12.24
06/01/2021 10.75 7.76 15.06 11.02
07/01/2021 9.85 7.14 13.65 8.75
08/01/2021 9.45 6.56 12.98 11.43
09/01/2021 11.37 8.28 16.54 10.71
10/01/2021 10.04 6.97 15.59 8.33
11/01/2021 10.55 7.76 16.03 10.63
12/01/2021 10.42 7.21 15.81 9.49
01/01/2022 9.32 5.80 16.71 7.48
02/01/2022 8.87 6.91 14.46 6.61
03/01/2022 9.01 7.28 14.35 9.18
04/01/2022 11.00 8.45 14.48 7.98
05/01/2022 9.60 7.57 14.15 7.12
06/01/2022 9.72 7.54 14.09 8.33
07/01/2022 12.77 9.33 19.15 9.56
08/01/2022 10.21 7.91 16.28 9.55
09/01/2022 10.29 7.49 16.96 8.31
10/01/2022 11.97 9.03 17.16 11.56
11/01/2022 9.53 7.45 14.97 8.50
12/01/2022 11.89 9.63 16.14 10.90
01/01/2023 10.78 9.22 15.61 9.53
02/01/2023 10.72 9.04 16.28 8.52
03/01/2023 9.33 7.53 13.97 6.51
04/01/2023 9.41 8.60 14.31 7.31
05/01/2023 9.78 8.59 14.07 8.50
06/01/2023 9.79 9.03 14.69 7.14
07/01/2023 11.35 10.67 15.13 10.22
08/01/2023 10.54 10.03 15.00 8.79
09/01/2023 11.06 10.73 13.25 9.27
10/01/2023 11.10 11.04 13.43 10.46
11/01/2023 12.89 12.31 14.91 11.47
12/01/2023 12.85 12.73 14.58 10.79
01/01/2024 10.63 11.62 12.47 10.11
02/01/2024 11.28 11.40 13.16 9.78
03/01/2024 13.04 13.38 15.46 11.64
04/01/2024 14.30 13.95 16.62 11.05
05/01/2024 15.19 15.19 16.86 12.64
06/01/2024 12.89 13.85 13.84 10.46
07/01/2024 11.92 13.63 11.74 11.20
08/01/2024 14.41 15.19 13.12 11.82

Note: The data are monthly from January 2018 through August 2024. All series are adjusted for inflation using the chain indexed PCE deflator for goods and food services excluding motor vehicles and are shown as growth relative to January 2018. All series are seasonally adjusted using X13-ARIMA-SEATS. "Long own" are households who own their current homes and have lived in their current homes since 2021 or prior, "recent own" are households who own their current homes and have lived in their current homes since 2022 or more recently, and "rent" are households who rent their current homes.

Source: Based on authors’ calculations using Numerator data.

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Last Update: October 11, 2024