December 2023 Earnest Analytics Spend Index

Earnest Analytics Spend Index powered by Orion transaction data fell below year-ago levels in December, with a slight deceleration in in-store exacerbated by a large deceleration in online. Active & Athleisure, Off-Price Department Stores, and Fashion Resale outperformed the broader apparel category, up mid-single digits YoY. Gyms and Workout classes also grew mid-single digits YoY in contrast to a decline in Home Fitness in the mid-teens. Warehouse Clubs and Online Marketplaces both grew YoY despite declines in the broader General Merchandise category. Delivery Aggregators was the fastest growing restaurant category in the month, with QSR also posting modest YoY gains. Home Furnishings, Intimate & Swimwear, and Footwear were also among the categories with the largest YoY declines during December. Online Travel Agency, Lodging & Accommodation, and Air Travel also fell mid-single digits YoY.

*About the Earnest Analytics Spend Index:

The Earnest Analytics Spend Index (EASI) is an alternative data-driven measure of consumer spending that tracks spend across 2,500+ large national brands in major consumer discretionary and staples subcategories. The near real-time data is derived from the credit and debit spend of millions of de-identified U.S. consumers. Advantages of using EASI include better representation of e-commerce spend, disaggregation by geography, and online versus in-store breakouts.

Historical numbers could vary slightly due to methodology updates.