skip to main content
Briefing

United States: Consumption

Critical Issues

U.S. Retail Sales: Is the Back to School Spending Season Looking Any Better?

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

U.S. Consumer Credit: Banks Ease Some Lending Standards; Demand Still Contracting on Net

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

U.S. Consumer Spending: Set For a Weak H2 2010?

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

U.S. Consumers: Confidence Continues to Collapse

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

U.S. Households: A Transition to a Higher Savings Rate?

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

U.S. Household Income, Net Worth and Consumption: How Unequal is the Distribution?

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

U.S. Income Inequality: What Are the Causes, and How to Address the Problem?

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

U.S. Tax Reforms: What are the Implications for Income Redistribution?

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

Is the U.S. Middle Class Facing Increased Economic Insecurity?

Access to this analysis is restricted to RGE Clients.
If you are an RGE Client please log in to your account.
For information on becoming an RGE Client, pleasevisit our Registration page or speak with an RGE Representative in NY at 212-645-0010, or, in London, at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.
Forgot Your Password?

Background:

From the early 1990s until the recent financial crisis, U.S. consumer spending rose faster than income, buoyed by easy credit conditions, the wealth effects of rising house prices and returns from financial markets. However, the erosion of housing and financial-sector wealth driven by the financial crisis that began in 2007, and the millions of job losses resulting from the ensuing recession brought about a severe retrenchment in consumer spending. The fiscal stimulus package, including initiatives like the “cash for clunkers” program, helped to boost consumer spending in 2009. However, as the effects of the stimulus support fade, protracted weakness in the labor market, reduced consumer credit availability and a possible climb in the savings rate as households attempt to deleverage and increase their net worth are likely to dampen a self-sustained recovery. Given that consumption accounts for around 70% of U.S. GDP, slow consumption growth has huge implications for the wider U.S. economy, as well as the global recovery.

RGE CLIENTS

This is a small excerpt of content available only to RGE Clients.

If you are an RGE Client, please log in to your account.

For information on becoming an RGE Client, please visit our Registration Page, email us or
speak with RGE Sales in NY at +1 212-645-0010 or in London at +44 (0) 203 056 4960.

Associated Readings

Research Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan and James Kennedy March 2007 Sources and Uses of Equity Extracted from Homes Analysis Morgan Stanley Richard Berner and David Cho May 29, 2009 Deleveraging the American Consumer Analysis Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Reuven Glick and Kevin J. Lansing May 15, 2009 U.S. Household Deleveraging and Future Consumption Growth Analysis Wachovia John E. Silvia Apr 03, 2009 The Changing Nature of Saving Analysis McKinsey Susan Lund and Charles Atkins March 2009 The economic impact of increased US savings Blogs Nouriel Roubini's Global EconoMonitor Jul 17, 2008 American Un-Beauty: The Crisis of the Suburbian (McMansions and Gas-Guzzling SUVs) Way of Life Research CEPR Center for Economic and Policy Research Dean Baker and David Rosnick July 2008 The Impact of the Housing Crash on Family Wealth Analysis Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Jun 27, 2008 US: Consumer Sentiment and Consumer Spending