Steve is the managing director of Deloitte's Consumer Industry Center, Deloitte Services LP. He leads a team that conducts research to uncover new ways of thinking, working, and leading within the consumer industry through data and evidence driven analysis.
With more than 20 years of experience within consulting and high tech, Steve is especially interested in the intersection of technology, consumers, and business. He is focused on how industry leaders can deliver better results and the strategies organizations use to adapt to accelerating change.
Key insights about US consumers from Deloitte’s ConsumerSignals
Deloitte’s financial well-being index rose 2.5 points in March to 102.4—slightly recovering from a two-month drop (figure 1).
Price expectations continue to rise. Expectations of rising prices are particularly widespread for groceries but eased slightly in March for gas (figure 2).
Spending intentions for nondiscretionary categories continues to climb higher, largely driven by housing and utilities (figures 3 and 4).
Meanwhile, discretionary spending intentions remain below the 2021 baseline but are holding higher than 2023 and 2024 lows (figure 3).
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 respondents’
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.
Steve is the managing director of Deloitte's Consumer Industry Center, Deloitte Services LP. He leads a team that conducts research to uncover new ways of thinking, working, and leading within the consumer industry through data and evidence driven analysis.
With more than 20 years of experience within consulting and high tech, Steve is especially interested in the intersection of technology, consumers, and business. He is focused on how industry leaders can deliver better results and the strategies organizations use to adapt to accelerating change.