New U.S. Data Shows Consumers Buying Fewer Things While Spending More on Experiences Like Travel

It’s a cliche of travel sector conferences. Consumers, especially younger ones, prefer to spend money on experiences, such as travel, rather than goods. But it’s still eye-popping to see the trend literally show up in new U.S. consumer data.

From Bloomberg News today:

“Inflation-adjusted spending on goods fell 0.5 percent in March from the prior month, while services rose 0.6 percent, matching the biggest gain since July. Not adjusted for inflation, the gain in services spending was broad-based and led by components including international travel, restaurants and hotels, according to the Commerce Department.”

The cost of goods has been rising, and so has the cost of travel. But consumers decided in the past few months they would rather spend on things like travel. That’s good news for airlines like United, whose CEO has just reiterated that consumers are willing to pay extra for flights.

The data echoes another report out today from Mastercard. As Skift reported on Wednesday:

“International tourism spending on experiences is quickly outpacing spending on “things” since July 2021, according to a new travel report by the Mastercard Economics Institute.”