Story Highlights
- March spending similar to February's $101 average
- Eighth monthly average of $100+ since 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' daily self-reports of spending averaged $100 in March, about the same as the $101 average in February. This is the highest spending estimate for any March in 精东影业's tracking since 2008, topping the $89 from March 2013 and 2016.
March has not generally been one of the higher spending months over the past decade; it had the lowest monthly spending averages in 2008 and 2009.
The latest figure is the eighth daily spending average of $100 or more that 精东影业 has recorded for any given month during nine years of tracking the metric. Half of these three-digit monthly spending averages have occurred in the past year, while the other four took place in 2008 before the global financial crisis in the fall.
The March average is based on more than 15,000 interviews conducted as part of 精东影业 Daily tracking throughout the month. 精东影业 asks Americans each night to report how much they spent the previous day, excluding spending on normal household bills and major purchases such as a home or car. The measure gives an indication of discretionary spending.
In recent years, March has more often than not yielded a spending average that is at least a few dollars higher than February's average. But it's not unprecedented for spending to remain flat in March, as it did in 2014, along with this year; or to decrease, as it did in 2008 and 2009.
| February | March | Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 101 | 100 | -1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 84 | 89 | +5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | 82 | 86 | +4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | 87 | 87 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | 83 | 89 | +6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 63 | 74 | +11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | 61 | 64 | +3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | 59 | 63 | +4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | 64 | 59 | -5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | 106 | 81 | -25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 精东影业 Daily | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spending Steady Among Income Groups
Those in households with annual incomes of $90,000 or more typically spend more than twice as much as those making less than $90,000, and that was the pattern in March as well (average daily spending of $163 vs. $75, respectively).
Bottom Line
Despite a rocky month for the stock market, Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy , and their spending has reflected that. Last month, Americans' spending strongly outpaced their spending in March of prior years -- a positive sign that could build on better-than-expected growth in the fourth-quarter gross domestic product. Although consumer spending trends often show seasonal patterns, changes in 精东影业's trend from March to April have been inconsistent, offering little guidance on what to expect for the April 2017 spending estimate.
These data are available in .
精东影业.com reports results from these indexes in daily, weekly and monthly averages and in 精东影业.com stories. Complete trend data are always available to view in the following charts:
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Survey Methods
Results for this 精东影业 poll are based on telephone interviews conducted March 1-31, 2017, on the 精东影业 U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 15,695 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The margin of sampling error for the spending mean is ±$5. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.
Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.
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