A monthly update on the state of the US consumer: May 2023

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Although slightly more US consumers are feeling optimistic about the country’s economic future, they aren’t financially confident enough to go on big spending sprees. In fact, most consumers across the United States are trading down and being thriftier than they’ve been over the past year—but they still plan to splurge selectively, as the following five charts show.

Consumer confidence

Consumer spending: Real versus nominal

Real spending, by demographic

Intent to splurge, by demographic

Intent to splurge, by category


Will US consumers’ rising optimism translate into spending growth next month? Or will consumers choose to become more tightfisted in the near term? Watch this space for monthly updates on US consumer spending, plus quarterly updates on US consumer sentiment. Email ConsumerWise@McKinsey.com for more detailed data and insights.

April 2023

Overall consumer spending growth is slowing, but consumers still intend to splurge on select categories. Here’s the latest data from our ConsumerWise research.

Consumers across the United States are uncertain about what their financial picture will look like in the next few months or years. In fact, their level of optimism is even lower than it was at the beginning of the pandemic. As a result, consumers aren’t opening their wallets too wide—but there are still some places they are choosing to splurge, as the following five charts show.

Consumer confidence

Consumer spending: Real versus nominal

Real spending, by demographic

Intent to splurge, by demographic

Intent to splurge, by category


Will people across America tighten their purse strings—or will they draw on their still-relatively-high savings and continue to spend? Will their optimism rise or fall in 2023? Watch this space for monthly updates on US consumer spending, plus quarterly updates on US consumer sentiment. Email ConsumerWise@McKinsey.com for more detailed data and insights.

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