AUSTIN, Texas — Inflation has continued to hammer down on consumers since last year.
According to a survey by Forbes, shoppers are continuing to shop – and feel good about it – thanks to President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program, the Inflation Reduction Act and stronger job numbers.
But this news comes with a catch. The survey also found consumers, while continuing to shop, are also tightening their budgets. Nearly 35% of people said they're spending less than usual in response to inflation.
The Consumer Price Index shows that prices were up 8.2% from September 2021. This outweighs the paces of an increase in wages, leaving many to depend on credit cards, even for essentials.
Meanwhile, new data from the Census Bureau shows that retail sales held steady in September. The number, not adjusted for inflation, compares to a 0.4% increase in August. Analysts had expected sales to increase by 0.2%.
That report shows that consumers are pulling back their spending on cars, furniture, electronics, building materials, sporting goods and gas stations. Sales were highest for food, clothing and health and personal care products.
Receipts at electronics and appliance stores declined 0.8%. There were also decreases in sales at hobby and musical instrument and book stores, showing consumers are cutting back on things not considered necessities.
Sales at clothing and general merchandise stores were higher. Receipts at bars and restaurants, the only services category in the retail sales report, increased 0.5%.
As for other services, Moody's Analytics, a financial services company, says the typical American household spent $445 more a month in September to buy the same goods and services they purchased a year ago.
The shuffle of increases and decreases in specific areas has shoppers reconsidering what they'll buy, how they'll buy it and how much of it they'll buy as we approach gift-giving and elaborate dinner season and as inflation is forecast to continue being a problem into 2023.
Surveys show 41% of respondents plan to begin holiday shopping before Thanksgiving, hoping to ease the burden on their wallets with early sales.
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