Consumers Buying More Experiences, Less On 'Things'

Traditional retail is having a tough go of it lately. Declining sales, pressure from online stores, and the fickle tastes of young people have all pressured the old guard of shopping.

Business Insider reports Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Tuesday had some more bad news for the mall stalwarts: No one wants to buy goods anymore.

Using the aggregated data of those with Bank of America debit cards and credit cards, US economist Michelle Meyer identified a growing trend in customers' spending habits: Instead of purchasing goods, more and more Americans are putting their incomes toward experiences.

"We show an assortment of categories in the Chart of the Month and observe the following themes: softness in housing-related items; continued shift away from department stores and teen & young adult clothing; strength in sporting goods; and an increase in spending on travel and restaurants," Meyer and her team wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.

Based on the data, spending at department stores such as Macy's and Nordstrom has declined 4.0%, reiterating the downward trend for the group. This follows survey data last month from Morgan Stanley finding that retail sales in may were down 3.9% year-over-year.

Spending is also down 4.6% at teen and young-adult stores, 3.6% on home goods, and 3.0% on electronics.

Meyer pointed to the home-goods sales as particularly interesting considering that the housing market has seen some strength in the past few months, with existing-home sales hitting a nine-year high in May despite supply issues percolating in the market.

"We see continued evidence that spending related to the home has weakened — sales at furniture and home goods stores are declining on a year-over-year basis, down 0.5% and 3.6%, respectively, after solid gains over the prior five years," Meyer wrote.

"Similarly, spending at home improvement stores has been sluggish since the start of the year, although there was a tick higher in June," as illustrated in the chart.

The big winners in the BAML data were businesses associated with activities and experiences, according to Meyer.

"On the upside, sporting goods stores look strong and the travel-related components — airlines and lodging — are seeing continued gains," Meyer wrote.