State of the US consumer: October 2024

Discretionary spending intentions sustain fourth consecutive month of increases

Anthony Waelter

United States

Stephen Rogers

United States

Key insights about US consumers from Deloitte’s ConsumerSignals

  • Up 5.3 points compared to last year, Deloitte’s financial well-being index held steady month to month at 99.0 in September 2024 (figure 1).
  • Recent improvements in financial well-being sentiment are predominately being driven by higher-income households (figure 2).
  • While still below the 2021 baseline, discretionary spending intentions recorded a fourth consecutive month of growth in September, suggesting recovering spending confidence (figure 3).
  • Spending intentions remain mixed across categories, with housing and leisure travel seeing the strongest increases compared to the 2021 baseline (figure 4).




Notes: In figure 1, Deloitte’s financial well-being index is measured across six dimensions of financial health: (1) confidence in the ability to meet current financial obligations; (2) comfort with level of savings; (3) income relative to spending; (4) delays in making large purchases; (5) assessment of current personal financial situation compared to the last year; and (6) expectations regarding personal financial situation for the year ahead. Higher index values represent stronger financial well-being. Spending intentions represent respondent’s estimated spending for the next four weeks. In figure 3, discretionary categories include leisure travel, restaurants, recreation and entertainment, electronics, clothing, personal care, household goods, education, child care, and home furnishing. Nondiscretionary categories include housing and utilities, transportation, groceries, and health care. Spending intention–related index values are represented by a three-month exponential moving average.

Sources: Deloitte ConsumerSignals; US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Deloitte Insights | www2.deloitte.com/insights






Sources: US Department of Commerce; US Bureau of Labor Statistics; The Wall Street Journal (all sourced through Haver Analytics); Deloitte analysis.
Deloitte Insights | www2.deloitte.com/insights

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Anthony Waelter

United States

Stephen Rogers

United States