YipitData Consumer Spend Index Shows Weakness in January Across Several Categories
We just launched the YipitData Consumer Spend Index (YCSI), a measure of overall and category-level non-seasonally adjusted US retail sales as observed in a large transaction panel.
In January, YCSI showed consumer spending Y/Y growth (ex-gas stations) decelerated slightly from December. Y/Y growth in core retail sales was relatively stable over this period.
YCSI saw growth decelerate broadly across most categories in mid-January, likely reflecting the severe weather conditions across the US at the time.
At a category level, Furniture and Restaurants Y/Y growth saw the sharpest decelerations, with Clothing, Building Materials, and Sporting Goods also decelerating. The decelerations in Restaurants and Clothing growth were supported by tougher comps, though the former also decelerated across other growth rates (2Y, 4Y CAGRs).
YCSI Consumer Spending Growth (Total retail ex-gas and select categories)
Interested to know how consumer spending trends in February? Contact us to learn more.
About the YipitData Consumer Spend Index
YipitData’s Consumer Spend Index (YCSI) is a measure of overall and category non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) US retail sales as observed in a large transaction panel. Note, YCSI is not grossed up to match NSA figures reported by the US Census Bureau’s Monthly Retail Trade Surveys. YCSI offers several advantages relative to the Census Bureau’s data:
A more direct measure of consumer spend: Unlike survey data released by the Census Bureau, YCSI is based on real purchases from millions of consumers in our transaction dataset.
Less frequent revisions of historical data: YCSI will only see periodic revisions to historical data, enabling greater confidence in published trends (relative to Census Bureau data that is constantly revised).
More frequent updates: YCSI updates twice a month, providing insights into consumer spend inflections as they happen.
Granularity: YCSI provides daily granularity, allowing clients to see how spending has trended throughout the month. In addition, we break down spending trends by income, card type, age, and channel (e-commerce vs brick-and-mortar).
In addition to fundamental non-seasonally adjusted spending trends, the US Consumer Insights product at YipitData provides monthly estimates for the US Census Bureau’s Seasonally Adjusted Advanced Retail Sales figures. Contact us using the form below to learn more.
