Consumer spending in the US is now more heavily concentrated among the wealthiest households than at any point in decades.

According to Bank of America, the top 10% of earners spend as much on discretionary items as the bottom 70% combineda sign of how the so-called K-shaped recovery has intensified since the pandemic. Moody's Analytics, analyzing Federal Reserve data, found these high-income households, earning $250,000 or more, drove 49.7% of all consumer spending, up from 36% thirty years ago.

Affluent Shoppers Drive Nearly Half Of US Retail Spending