Spending and transactions tell a nuanced consumer story

Summary

• Discretionary spending growth has improved across most categories since the start of 2026.
• Travel spending saw significant gains, with increases in hotel and flight expenditures.
• Higher oil prices likely contributed to increased travel costs.
• Airline transaction volumes have dropped relative to a year ago.
• Durable goods purchases continue to decline.
• Restaurant transactions continue to grow, indicating an increase in purchase quantity rather than just price increases.
• Data used for the report is derived from aggregated and anonymized Bank of America transaction data.
• The dataset includes payments from US Retail, Preferred, Small Business, and Wealth Management clients with deposit accounts or credit cards.
• Per household spending growth isolates impacts from sample size changes by including only households with at least five transactions per month.
• Overall total card spending growth includes small business card spending, while per household spending does not.
• Household income terciles are periodically re-assessed based on quantitative estimates of income.
• Generations are defined by birth years, with Gen Z born after 1995 and Traditionalists born before 1946.