February 2022 Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index

Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index (ERSI) reaccelerated from January, recovering from two months of consecutive decelerations as Omicron infections eased.  Home Furnishings stood out, accelerating double digits and reversing several months of decelerating growth as the category lapped difficult pandemic comps, while remaining below year-ago levels. Mid-Tier and Off-Price Department Stores YoY growth was also noteworthy, accelerating double digits from January, up notably from 2021. Air Travel spend more than doubled YoY, suggesting consumers are planning to resume pre-pandemic travel behavior as Covid-19 restrictions ease. Casual Dining continued to outperform other Restaurant categories. Delivery Aggregators was flat YoY, suggesting consumers may be shifting their spend back to in-store and onto proprietary ordering platforms.

See the Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index for January (Note: Historical numbers could vary slightly due to methodology updates.)

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*About the Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index:

The Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index (ERSI) 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 ERSI include better representation of e-commerce spend, disaggregation by geography, and online versus in-store breakouts.