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Consumer spending

Retail is recovering — and flowering — in smaller cities and the suburbs

by Samantha Fields
Feb 1, 2023
A new report from the JPMorgan Chase Institute finds retail has followed consumers to where many more now work and live.
Consumers are continuing to spend — just closer to home. Above, people walk at an outdoor shopping area in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
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Savings are up, spending is down. Are consumers better off or just nervous?

by Samantha Fields
Jan 27, 2023
The savings rate went up half a percentage point in December, but it's still not back to pre-pandemic levels.
Wipada Wipawin/Getty Images
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Spending on services is starting to taper off, U.S. data indicates

by Justin Ho
Jan 27, 2023
Until recently, consumers had been spending less on goods and more on services. That's changing. Here's what it could mean for inflation.
While consumer appetite to travel remains strong, more people are opting to drive rather than fly.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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Are the latest GDP numbers good news? It depends on how you look at them.

by Mitchell Hartman and Justin Ho
Jan 26, 2023
The economy grew, but not as much as expected. Some parts of the economy are slowing, but not as much as expected.
An increase in business inventories helped boost economic activity last quarter. But whether that's positive or negative depends on whom you ask.
George Frey/Getty Images
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As discretionary spending slows, retailers try to make themselves essential

by Kristin Schwab
Jan 17, 2023
Here's how one small business is adapting to the changing consumer climate.
Pricier items like furniture tend to be put on hold when households budgets are strained, said AlixPartners' Sonia Lapinsky. Above, a shopper at a Houston Ikea.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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Why consumers are pulling back on spending

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Jan 17, 2023
A New York Fed survey shows consumers are cutting back. But inflation means they're paying more for the same stuff.
Consumer spending peaked over the summer and has been falling ever since, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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COVID-19

China ends zero-COVID, but are consumers ready to spend?

by Jennifer Pak
Jan 12, 2023
Chinese officials have lifted the harshest restrictions of the zero-COVID policy, but consumers are still cautious amid surging infections.
A tourist district in Xiamen city in late December 2022 was quiet amid a surge of COVID infections.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace
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The "sneaky practice" of shrinkflation has been driving up your grocery bills for years

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Jan 4, 2023
Shrinkflation means getting less product for the same price, and it's not going away anytime soon.
Shrinkflation is a tactic manufacturers use to pass on price increases to consumers. For instance: quietly reducing the number of squares of toilet paper per roll.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
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As Americans spend on experiences, inflation declines for goods and rises for services

by Matt Levin
Dec 23, 2022
It's a tale of two inflations: goods versus services.
After the heights of the pandemic, Americans decided to gorge in-person activities like dining out.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Consumers have kept the economy humming. How long can they keep it up?

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Dec 20, 2022
Although they're contending with inflation and economic uncertainty, they continue to rack up debt and burn through their savings.
With consumers racking up debt and burning through savings, economists expect a pullback in spending.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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