Data Drop: 5 Charts to Explain How Consumer Behavior Is Shifting in an Uncertain Economy

Article by Jennifer Pearson, and Jennifer Jhun  | May 17, 2023
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Data Drop: 5 Charts to Explain How Consumer Behavior Is Shifting in an Uncertain Economy
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Table of Contents
US Consumer Confidence and Outlook Is Mixed
A Half Year Later, Consumers Are (Still) Cautious About Discretionary Spending
Categories Where Consumers Cut vs. Spend Remains Fairly Steady
Consumers Notice Price and Product Changes and React Accordingly
Entertainment Isn’t Immune to Spending Cuts, but Ad-Supported Content Will Be the Beneficiary
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Topics
Consumer Behavior
United States
Table of Contents
US Consumer Confidence and Outlook Is Mixed
A Half Year Later, Consumers Are (Still) Cautious About Discretionary Spending
Categories Where Consumers Cut vs. Spend Remains Fairly Steady
Consumers Notice Price and Product Changes and React Accordingly
Entertainment Isn’t Immune to Spending Cuts, but Ad-Supported Content Will Be the Beneficiary
Media Gallery

The past six months have been a roller coaster of rising consumer-goods costs, uneven employment news, and increased optimism about the end of the pandemic—all mixed with a tightening of discretionary spending. In September, consumers were cutting back on dining out and entertainment. What are they doing now?

US Consumer Confidence and Outlook Is Mixed

The Conference Board’s April 2023 Consumer Confidence Index—a monthly measure of consumer attitudes, buying intentions, vacation plans, and consumer expectations for inflation, stock prices, and interest rates—ticked slightly up from June 2022. But 61% of US consumers indicated a “high level” of concern versus February at 57%, according to an April 2023 survey from Numerator.

  • The Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, was up 4.9% from last April, per a May release from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the 4.9% reflects a drop from the June 2022 year-over-year high of 9.1%.
  • Wages have continued to increase, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April 2023 Wage Index .