Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.
Are May flowers wilting?
Consumers continued to moderate spending through mid-May, especially on durables like electronics and autos.
May 2025
Key takeaways
- While consumer spending momentum has been positive this year, it moderated in April, according to Bank of America aggregated credit and debit card data. And increased economic uncertainty due to tariff variability seems to have brought further moderation into May.
- While there was some early to mid-April spending strength in durables (especially for electronics), it largely subsided and eased into mid-May. Auto loan applications (our proxy for vehicle purchases), highlights that vehicles were a particular "buy ahead" focus, but has also somewhat normalized through mid-May. And clothing, although disproportionately affected by tariffs, did not see buying ahead activity in April nor through mid-May.
- Through the middle of May, buying ahead for durables appears to have been led by middle- and higher-income households with the exception being the top 1%. Lower-income households have not participated in this trend, likely as they lack the available funds to make bigger ticket purchases on short notice.
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