Wealthier Americans are driving retail spending and powering US economy
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Wealthier Americans are driving retail spending due to strong gains in income, home equity, and stock market wealth; Federal Reserve research indicates a shift from pre-pandemic spending patterns; lower-income consumers are squeezed by high prices, affecting discretionary spending; inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose 3% in 2022 and 2.5% in 2023; retail sales rose 0.4% from August to September 2024; restaurant sales increased by 1%; the economy grew at an estimated 3.4% in Q3 2024; home equity for the wealthiest increased by 70% since Q1 2020; stock market wealth for the richest rose by 86%; spending for upper-income households increased by 17% since January 2018; lower-income households saw only a 7.9% increase; the share of discretionary spending for the lowest-income households fell by 2.5 percentage points; rising credit card and auto loan delinquencies indicate struggles for lower-income consumers; economists remain optimistic about future spending as inflation-adjusted incomes rise.

#Retail #Economy #Spending #Wealth #Inflation #Income #FederalReserve #ConsumerBehavior #EconomicGrowth #DiscretionarySpending

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wealthier-americans-driving-retail-spending-powering-us-economy-114918556