Consumers make less space in their wallets for home-related purchases

HIGH POINT — Just how much has expected U.S. consumer spending for home-related products decreased over the past couple of years? According to Deloitte’s Global State of the Consumer Tracker, plans to buy home furnishings and electronics have eroded fairly steadily.

Looking at the oldest data available from Sept. 26, 2021, U.S. consumers planned to allocate 8% of their share of wallet over the next four weeks toward home furnishings and electronics. Broken down by age group, it was 10% for those 18 to 34, 9% for those 35 to 54 and 4% for the 55 and older group.

A year later, however, on Sept. 26, 2022, the oldest group’s number declined to 3% of their share of wallet for home and electronics purchases over a four-week period. For the 35 to 54 group, it dropped two percentage points to 7%, while the Gen Z and Millennial group declined to 9%. Among all age groups combined, share of wallet for the category fell to 6%.

The most recent data available this year, from Aug. 28, shows an even sharper decline in planned spending for home, dropping to 3% among the combined ages, about a 62% change over a two-year span. In almost a year’s time, the youngest group was down to allocating 4%, while planned spending within the 35 to 54 sector fell to 3%, and Boomers and older Gen Xers were only setting aside 2% of their wallet share for home and electronics.

In contrast, while also seeing a decline between September 2021 and August 2023, clothing and personal care’s share of wallet dropped to 8% from 11%, a 27% decline. The pullback on recreation and leisure was also more gradual, dropping to 11% in 2023 from 13% in 2021, about a 15% fluctuation.

Where is the spending allocation going? Share of wallet committed for housing over the two-year period for all U.S. consumers tracked rose to 25% from 13%, a 92% increase. Groceries, meanwhile, rose much more modestly, from 12% in 2021 and ‘22 to 13% in 2023.

Deloitte’s Global State of the Consumer Tracker is an online panel survey fielded across 24 countries and targeting 1,000 adults 18 or older in each country.

See also: How are U.S. consumers allocating $933 billion in home improvement spending?