Aug 17, 2021 - Economy

Pandemic spending habits are dying out

Courtenay Brown

A customer shops for back-to-school items at Walmart earlier this month. — A customer shops for back-to-school items at Walmart this month. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

America's spending habits — what and how we are buying — are reverting to pre-pandemic times.

Why it matters: What we're learning so far from a flood of retail earnings this week is companies may have rushed to adapt to changing consumer behaviors, but not all of those habits are sticking around.

What's happening: The number of transactions at Walmart jumped from this time last year as more people shopped in-store. But how much they are spending per transaction is falling — a change from the depths of the pandemic when people stocked up with online purchases and made fewer in-person trips.

Sales at restaurants and bars were the bright spot in the July retail sales report — the latest sign Americans continued to shift spending away from stuff to experiences (like dining out), even amid the spread of the Delta variant.
Pandemic-fueled, do-it-yourself projects are tapering off. Home Depot reported a sales slowdown in departments that were on fire this time last year: paint, gardening and hardware. DIY customer sales lagged those of professional customers for the second straight quarter.

Between the lines: Consumers are still doling out plenty of money at stores, even if how and what they buy shifts.

Home Depot reported record quarterly revenue. And Walmart upgraded how much it'll rake in this year on the back of strong shopping trends.

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Pandemic spending habits are dying out

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