Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
Consumer Checkpoint: The madness of March
Consumer spending showed broad-based strength in March, with solid gains beyond the gas surge across retail and services.
April 2026
Key takeaways
- Total credit and debit card spending per household rose 4.3% year-over-year (YoY), marking the strongest growth since early 2023, according to Bank of America internal data. Higher gasoline prices powered some of the increase, with spending at the pump surging 16.5% month-over-month (MoM). However, total card spending excluding gasoline still saw healthy growth at 3.6% YoY.
- Higher-income households’ spending growth remains well ahead of those in middle- and lower-income groups. While the gap narrowed slightly in March, that’s because gas comprises a higher share of lower-income household budgets; discretionary spending growth actually eased in March for lower-income households while rising for other income cohorts.
- Larger tax refunds are so far providing a meaningful short-term boost — especially for discretionary spending and debt paydown — but the increase in refunds skews toward higher-income households and may only temporarily offset rising cost pressures.
Consumer Checkpoint is a regular publication from Bank of America Institute. It aims to provide a holistic and real-time estimate of U.S. consumers’ spending and their financial well-being, leveraging the depth and breadth of Bank of America proprietary data. Any such Bank of America proprietary data is not intended to be reflective or indicative of, and should not be relied upon as, the results of operations, financial conditions or performance of Bank of America.
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