Data: Americans spending less time, more money on shopping
By Elizabeth Renter | NerdWallet
Buying things takes less time these days — you can have your week’s groceries, a new outfit and a used car headed to your front door in a matter of hours, thanks to technology. But this convenience comes with a price.
New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals fewer people are shopping on any given day than they were 20 years ago, and those who do are spending less time on the task. However, we’re spending more money, likely because we no longer have to even open our wallets, let alone leave the house, to buy all of the things we need or desire.
While our efforts have eased, online shopping has helped drive a dramatic increase in retail spending over the past few decades. Whether it’s your groceries or wardrobe, you’ve likely succumbed to more impulse buys because it’s just so darned easy.
We’re spending less time shopping
From 2003 to 2023, the share of people shopping on any given day fell from about 46% to just under 40%, according to the American Time Use Survey, an annual release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that examines how we spend our hours.