Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
Consumer Checkpoint: Spending season
October spending remained solid as holiday outlays strengthened and household finances stayed broadly healthy.
November 2026
Key takeaways
- Consumer spending remains solid, even as momentum moderates. Bank of America internal data shows total card spending per household rose 5.8% year-over-year (YoY) in October, while spending excluding gasoline increased 4.6%. Growth cooled across a number of discretionary categories, as services remained the main driver of spending growth.
- Bank of America internal data suggests that spending growth has converged across income groups, supported by solid after-tax wage growth. Lower-income households now lead total spending growth, with growth of 5.9% YoY. And while the top 5% of earners still lead in discretionary spending, the gap between them and lower-income households narrowed significantly.
- Holiday spending is off to a strong start, though consumers appear increasingly value-conscious. Spending on holiday items is running well above last year's levels, led by online purchases, while average transaction values are declining.
- Household finances remain broadly healthy, with deposits still elevated and a higher share of credit card holders paying off their entire balances every month. Although rising minimum credit-card payments and hardship distributions point to some stress at the margins.
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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