Sept. ’21 Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index

Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index

The Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index* was flat compared to the prior month with in-store growth continuing to decelerate and online accelerating slightly. Yo2Y spend accelerated 2pp both in-store and online. Foot traffic to consumer businesses was up slightly versus 2019 levels for the first month since February 2020, a sharp reversal from August suggesting a recovery in consumer activity. YoY spend growth decelerated for most major subcategories from the previous month, with the largest decelerations in Air Travel, Footwear, and Online Travel Agency. Gaming remained a bright spot, accelerating 12pp.

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

Follow us for more insights on the potential impact of COVID-induced changes on spending behavior in the coming months.

*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.