TORONTO–A new analysis of consumer spending during 2021 shows the number of trips by consumers to the grocery store has increased, more money has been spent on baking, travel expenditures have soared among Americans but declined among Canadians, and more.
The data was released by Sensibill, which describes itself as the only customer data platform designed specifically for the financial services industry, and is included as part of its new 2021 Sensibill Barcode Report.
The report is based on consumer spending trends for the year, leveraging customer spend data, including SKU-level data and transactions, to uncover the deepest and most relevant insights into consumer spending.
“The Sensibill Barcode Report transforms customer spend data derived from financial documents into consumable and actionable insights that organizations can leverage to better understand their spending habits and behaviors,” the company said.
Data from 220,000 Merchants
Sensibill said it has amassed a database of transactions from 220,000 merchants worldwide, including all of the top 100 merchants in the U.S. and Canada. Of these merchants, the company said it has extracted more than six-million unique SKUs across 32 different countries, developing more than 6,000 unique product categories.
In this its newest report, Sensibill said it analyzed millions of receipts from U.S. and Canadian consumers to reflect on consumer spending trends throughout this year compared to 2020.
Key Highlights & Trends
Among the highlights of consumer spending for the U.S. and Canada, according to Sensibill:
- The average consumer spending since August continues to increase on average by 5%, except during September, when there was a 10% decrease.
- Since June, consumer spending on travel-related purchases increased by 121% among American consumers, while it decreased by 86% among Canadian consumers. Overall, consumer travel spending among Canadian consumers increased by 44% while it declined by 15% among American consumers.
- After grocery trips were on the decline late in 2020, this year the number of grocery trips have increased on average by 20% each month.
- The average spending on baking-related items has tripled since the onset of the pandemic. Consumer spend on baking-related items has increased by 150% since April.
- Consumer spending on popcorn increased by 37% during the month of April. Popcorn consumption is still steadily on the rise and has increased by 11% since April.
- The average American consumer spending on kitchen-related improvements has doubled since May. On the other hand, Canadian consumer spending on door and window installations declined by 90% and spending on heating and ventilation declined by 65% since May.
- Since July, monthly consumer spending on pet-related purchases has dropped by approximately 12%.
Click here for the full version of the report.