According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an American household earning an annual income of $94,003 spent about $72,967 on consumer goods in 2022. Housing costs accounted for over 33% of the total expenditures for goods and services.
Key Takeaways
- Consumer goods are products manufactured and sold for final consumption by the purchaser.
- Non-durable consumer goods are consumed immediately or have a life span of fewer than three years—examples are food and clothing.
- Durable consumer goods have a life span of over three years and include cars and furniture.
What Are Consumer Goods?
Consumer goods are also known as retail goods and include food, clothing, electronics, jewelry, personal hygiene products, household cleaning products,furniture, books, magazines, tools, and other outdoor equipment. The purchasers of consumer goods do not resell the goods but will use them daily. Expenditures on consumer goods account for nearly one-third of total consumer spending annually.
Consumer goods include durable and non-durable consumer goods. Durable consumer goods are products with a lifespan greater than three years, such as cars, furniture, and appliances. Non-durable consumer goods are consumed immediately like food or clothing.
In the United States, measuring the amount of money spent on consumer goods is key to calculating the country's gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the size of the economy and growth rate.
Consumer Spending
A subcategory of consumer goods, consumer staples are products individuals consider essential and buy the most. These products include beverages, food, household items, and tobacco. Other consumer goods that people buy regularly are cleaning products, personal hygiene items, andclothing.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an American household earning an average income of $94,003 before taxes in 2022 allocated annual spending on average to:
- Food at home: $5,703
- Food away from home: $3,639
- Apparel and services: $1,945
- Vehicle purchases: $4,496
- Gasoline, other fuels: $3,120
- Personal care products and services: $866
- Entertainment: $3,458
What Affects Consumer Spending?
Consumer spending can reflect fluctuations in economic conditions. Expenditures for jewelry, electronics, and automobiles are typically subject to the greatest fluctuations. These are areas where consumers tend to cut back their expenses substantially during difficult economic times when they have less disposable income remaining after paying for basic expenses such as food, housing, and utilities.
Why Is Consumer Spending Used as an Economic Indicator?
Consumer spending, which includes consumer goods and other expenditures like housing and transportation,is reported monthly and considered a leading economic indicator. The goods and services purchased by those in the United States help gauge the economy's strength.
How Can the U.S. Government Boost Consumer Spending?
During periods when the overall economy and consumer spending are sluggish, the U.S. government sometimes attempts to stimulate spending through tax cuts. Such tax cuts can increaseconsumer spending and boost the overall economy. The effectiveness of this tactic is limited during times of high unemployment since the effects of higher unemployment tend to offset extra consumer spending by those employed.
The Bottom Line
Consumer goods include durable and non-durable consumer goods. In 2022, Americans spent over one-third of their income on housing. An additional third of income was spent on food and transportation. Changes in consumer spending reflect economic conditions and are monitored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
FAQs
A subcategory of consumer goods, consumer staples are products individuals consider essential and buy the most. These products include beverages, food, household items, and tobacco. Other consumer goods that people buy regularly are cleaning products, personal hygiene items, and clothing.
What products do Americans buy the most? ›
Among U.S. consumers the two most popular categories for online purchases are Clothing and Shoes. 43 percent and 33 percent of consumers respectively chose these answers in our representative online survey. The survey was conducted online among 10,046 respondents in the United States, in 2023.
What do American consumers spend the most money on? ›
You have to live somewhere, and for the average American—regardless of whether you rent, buy, or build a house—a place to live is the single largest expense. In fact, average Americans spend nearly a third of their total annual spending on a place they can call home.
What are Americans buying more of? ›
Americans are spending the biggest share of their income on food in 3 decades. Between groceries and restaurants, Americans are spending more of their income on food than they have in 30 years.
What are people buying most? ›
Electronics and Gadgets: Products like laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices are in constant demand. Clothing and Apparel: Fashion items are always in demand as people continuously seek new styles and trends. Food and Beverages: Basic necessities like food and beverages are universally in demand.
What is America's number one product? ›
1. Oil: $117 billion. Oil exports held steady, growing by just . 11% from $117.03 billion in 2022 to $117.16 billion in 2023, though the share of total U.S exports increased from 5.7% to 5.8%.
Who does us buy from the most? ›
U.S. goods imports from the world totaled $3.2 trillion in 2022, up 14.6 percent ($413.7 billion) from 2021. China was the top supplier of goods to the United States, accounting for 16.5 percent of total goods imports.
What are the big 3 things that Americans spend their money on? ›
Overall, Americans spend the most on housing, followed by groceries, utilities, and health insurance.
What is the highest consumer spending? ›
20 Countries with the Highest Consumer Spending in the World
- Republic of Poland. Final Consumption Expenditure in 2022: $524 billion. ...
- Republic of Turkiye. ...
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ...
- The Netherlands. ...
- Republic of Indonesia. ...
- Kingdom of Spain. ...
- Republic of Korea. ...
- Commonwealth of Australia.
In 2022, housing required the highest amount of consumer expenditure across all races, with Asian individuals spending the most. Additionally, Asian individuals spent more on personal insurance and pensions, as well as education than any other race.
Consumer purchases refer to items used in daily living (e.g., clothing, food, electronics, appliances). They are the purchases that most intimately frame your life: you live with these items and use them every day.
Why do Americans buy so much stuff? ›
An easy story to tell is that marketers and advertisers have perfected tactics to convince us to purchase things, some we need, some we don't. And it's an important part of the country's capitalistic, growth-centered economy: The more people spend, the logic goes, the better it is for everybody.
Do Americans spend more money on groceries or restaurants? ›
Driving the news: Americans spent 20.7% more at restaurants than they spent on groceries in 2022 — and that figure rose to 29.5% in the first two months of the year, according to Commerce Department data compiled by JLL.
What is the most bought item daily? ›
The most sold item in the world is clothing and fashion items. This ranges from women's and men's outfits to children's clothing, shoes, accessories, and more. People love their clothes, and fashion isn't going anywhere!
What product is the highest in demand? ›
According to online statistics, some of the most highly demanded product categories in India include:
- Electronics.
- Clothing and Accessories.
- Home and Kitchen Appliances.
- Mobile Phones and Accessories.
- Beauty and Personal Care.
- Books.
- Toys and Games.
- Sports and Fitness.
Get 10 Essential Items
- Water.
- Food.
- Can Opener.
- Medications.
- First Aid.
- Flashlight.
- Radio.
- Clothes.
These are America's most profitable products.
- iPhone. > Operating margin: 41% > Product revenue: $91.3 billion. > Market share: 45.0% ...
- Marlboro. > Operating margin: 32% > Product revenue: $18.7 billion. > Market share: 40.3% ...
- Monster. > Operating margin: 26% > Product revenue: $2.1 billion. > Market share: 34.6%
Male vs female shopping statistics
This is most evident when we look at the categories of the most purchased products online. Women are primarily buying fashion and clothing (W 71% vs M 49%) while men are much more interested in new products related to technology (M 49% vs W 31%).
