What do Americans spend money on now compared to before the pandemic?

We’ve seen the pandemic drastically change spending behaviors over the course of the last two years. Part of this is due to the downturn in the economy contributing to increased prices and

an inflation rate which Americans have not seen the likes of in 40 years

.

The latest Economist/YouGov poll shows that more than four in five US adults (83%) are concerned about inflation, with

58% saying it is a very serious problem

. Over the last year, inflation has pushed up the price of housing, gasoline and groceries by 7%.

A new poll from YouGov measures how Americans are spending their money now versus before the pandemic. Roughly two in five Americans (or more) say they have increased their spending on groceries (59%), online purchases (48%), gasoline (43%) and ordering take-out (37%) now versus pre-pandemic.

These four categories stand out as the only ones where Americans are more likely to say they have increased their spending than say they have maintained it or spent less than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

General retail

A combination of people spending more time at home and rising inflation has led to nearly three in five US consumers say they are spending more on groceries (59%), with those 55 and older especially likely to say they have increased their grocery spending (67%).

Online retail accelerated amid the pandemic and became central to how people shopped for items like groceries, home goods and clothing. This category is especially popular with consumers with a household income of $80,000 and higher, 60% of whom say they have increased their spending now compared to before the pandemic.

Those with a household income of $40,000 or less are significantly less likely to say they increased their spending on online purchases (43% vs. 48% of all US adults). Data from our poll reveals that this group is significantly more likely to say they spend less now in this category than they did before the pandemic (13% vs. 11%).

Roughly one in five Americans say they have been spending more on general retail categories such as apparel/clothing (21%) and alcoholic drinks (18%). While dining out also saw a 21% increase in spending, a plurality of Americans say they are spending less on dining out now than before the pandemic (40%).

Media services

Zooming into their spending on media services, Americans are more likely to have increased their spending on video streaming services (27%) than they are on cable TV (19%) or music streaming services (13%).

Americans with a household income of $80,000 or higher are more likely to say they are spending more on both video streaming services (36%) and music streaming (16%). The same observation can be made of younger Americans’ (aged 18-34) spending on video (32%) and music streaming (20%).

Telecommunications

Viewed another way, the results from this poll reveal what products and services people consider as essential to living in a post-pandemic world. Telecommunications services have enabled people to work from home, stay connected with one another and buy the products they need online and therefore may have elevated their status to "essential" costs of living in the eyes of consumers today.

A plurality of consumers say they have maintained their spending for several communications services, but notable shares indicate they have increased their spending in broadband services (18%), cellphone contracts (15%) and cell phone handsets. Young consumers aged 18-34 are significantly more likely to say they spend more now on mobile phones (18%) and cell phone contracts (19%).

All of this reinforces the idea that modern consumers now, more than ever, rely on the internet and mobile phones to conduct their day-to-day lives.

Travel

Domestic travel saw a bump in spending among 14% of Americans compared to before the pandemic and 19% of consumers even indicate they have maintained their spending level on this type of travel. However, a quarter of Americans cut their spending when it came to domestic travel and more than a third say they have not spent any money at all on travel within the country (38%).

Two in three Americans say they did not spend money on international travel during the pandemic (66%) and 12% say they spent less in this travel category. A modest 8% say they have spent more compared to before the pandemic and 10% have maintained their spending.

But the future looks hopeful for the travel and tourism industry; the latest data from

YouGov Global Travel Profiles

reveals that 44% of Americans say they intend to take a domestic trip in the next 12 months and 17% plan to go on an international vacation in 2022.

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