U.S. Consumer Spending Tracker
Morning Consult’s U.S. Consumer Spending tracker provides a detailed assessment of U.S. adults’ self-reported expenditures as well as spending allocation ahead of government data releases. Respondents are asked recurring questions on twenty household spending categories. Businesses and investors rely on this tracker to understand emerging trends in consumer demand, purchasing power and shopping patterns across demographics.
Data Downloads
Pro+ subscribers are able to download the datasets that underpin Morning Consult Pro's reports and analysis. Contact us to get access.
Consumer spending by demographics
Demographic and category detail
While understanding average spending for U.S. consumer is important, Morning Consult collects spending data for all the categories above for different cohorts, such as annual household income. Pro+ and MCEI clients can download the data files to analyze total spending as well as category level spending for different sets of demographics.
Share of wallet for different demographics
This chart shows the spending allocation for the average U.S. consumer's typical expenditure categories in the latest month. Pro+ and MCEI clients can download the data files to analyze how this allocation has shifted over time and compare this data across different demographics.
Methodology
The survey is conducted monthly among a representative sample of 2,200 U.S. adults. The first run took place in September 2020, with additional questions added in subsequent versions. Data is collected during the first week of each month, with all questions pertaining to the previous month.
Morning Consult calculates consumer spending estimates by taking the trimmed mean of open-ended numerical response data. This approach allows reported nominal spending levels to more freely drift over time, eliminating the downward bias that arises from using static spending ranges for goods and services during periods of sustained inflation. Another benefit of this process is that it can be applied to international spending data as coverage expands to other countries, many of which have also experience rapid inflation. Consult our methodology page and a benchmarking article for more information.
- Began fielding: September 2020
- Frequency: Monthly
- Fielding period: Beginning the first or second day of each month and running 2-5 days
- Sample Size: 2,200 adults
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