One economist is saying that the trend of American consumers spending more on services and less on goods may be showing signs of diminishing.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance Live, economist Greg Daco of EY-Parthenon said, “The relative shift in spend is a story from 2022.”
“We’re really at the tail end of that shift in spending. The narrative that people are going out to restaurants and traveling more, really the bulk of that took place over the past 12 months.”
He says that it appears consumers are “still spending more dollars because things cost more, but they’re buying fewer goods and services.”
Compared to March, retail sales in April were up 0.4%. That data represents mostly sales of goods, although it also includes restaurant dining, which was up .6%. The figures were not inflation-adjusted.
Daco noted, “Adjusted for inflation, it’s a very small month over month increase, even in the services sector.”
Total card spend data for April, according to the latest Bank of America data indicates service-related expenses are flattening. Lodging was down over 3% compared to one year prior, while airline spending fell 4.5% compared to the previous month.
Airbnb, the short-term rental app has said it sees bookings and average daily rates declining in this quarter, compared to a healthy comp last year as travelers booked stays away from home as the Omicron variant spread.
During the company’s earnings call, company CEO Brian Chesky said, “The lowest price listings have the highest occupancy. So yes, people do want low price listings.”
Meanwhile airlines are expected to do quite well despite higher operating costs as the summer months produce a surge in demand.
However Daco said, “I’d be very curious to see how strong this travel season is going to be, in a context where prices remain quite high.”