September 2022 Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index

Earnest Analytics (FKA Earnest Research) Spend Index growth was flat YoY in September, as the in-store recovery rebounded and online decelerated. Gas Stations spending decelerated from August despite growing mid-single digits YoY. Air Travel was the fastest YoY grower as airlines passed along higher fuel prices. Gyms, Fashion Resale, and Warehouse Clubs stood out with mid-single to low double-digit growth. Conversely home subcategories like Home Fitness, Arts & Crafts, Home Furnishings, Home Improvement, General Electronics, and Household Goods all declined YoY, most worsening from the prior month. QSR and Delivery Aggregators rebounded slightly from flat to down growth in August. Footwear, General Apparel, and Intimate & Swimwear declined YoY and decelerated from August as the impact of an already weak back-to-school shopping season waned.

(Note: Historical numbers could vary slightly due to methodology updates.)

*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.