In the run-up to Christmas, Americans are not spending on luxury

American shoppers are exercising caution when it comes to spending on luxury ahead of the holiday season.

Data from Citigroup, Mastercard and Bank of America - three leading credit card companies – showed shoppers are holding back on spending on designer fashion, luxury goods and accessories over the past two months.

Reuters said the cut back could be the beginning of the luxury boom “petering out”, with investors weary that the sector is not above global economic turmoil.

Reuters said estimates from the three credit card companies show a small decline in US-spending on luxury goods by 2 to 4 percent in August, and in September by 5 to 6 percent, in comparison to 2021.

New insights about finance and inflation from Google Search trends shows despite current economic uncertainty people still want (little) luxuries. Big ticket purchases, however, are more planned than ‘off the cuff’.

Google data says people are trying to find the right balance between “cheap” and “luxury”, willing to wait and invest in more expensive purchases, as well as find alternative finance options.

At the core of consumer spending in uncertain times is the concern about how inflation will impact households — and how people can minimise this impact on their personal finances. The data from the US credit card companies confirms this.