Affluent Shoppers Drive Nearly Half Of US Retail Spending

Key Takeaways

• The apical 10% of US earners present relationship for astir fractional of each user spending, per Moody's Analytics and Bank of America.

• Retail and mixed-use plus show is progressively tied to affluent shoppers, arsenic lower-income and middle-class spending stagnates oregon declines.

• This top-heavy request illustration introduces attraction hazard for landlords and investors reliant connected high-income consumers.

The Steepening K-Shaped Recovery

Globe St reports that user spending successful the US is present much heavy concentrated among the wealthiest households than astatine immoderate constituent successful decades. According to Bank of America, the apical 10% of earners walk arsenic overmuch connected discretionary items arsenic the bottommost 70% combined—a motion of however the alleged K-shaped betterment has intensified since the pandemic. Moody's Analytics, analyzing Federal Reserve data, recovered these high-income households, earning $250,000 oregon more, drove 49.7% of each user spending, up from 36% 30 years ago. For CRE owners and investors, this attraction creates caller patterns of hazard and resilience for retail, mixed-use, and consumer-facing assets.

During 2025 and into 2026, the US retail scenery progressively reflected this skew. As per Colliers, high-income consumers stay comparatively insulated from broader economical pressures—such arsenic precocious rent burdens and rising indebtedness servicing—that interaction middle- and lower-income shoppers. The result: header retail income numbers stay solid, but the underlying organisation of spending has shifted dramatically upward, with nonstop implications for spot concern and tenant strategy.

A Top-Heavy Consumer Economy

The displacement toward top-heavy spending did not hap overnight. Economists warned astir a K-shaped betterment successful 2020. They expected affluent households to propulsion up of everyone else.

Bank of America's latest investigation adds much detail. The apical 10% present lucifer the discretionary spending of the bottommost 70% combined. A tiny radical drives maturation successful entertainment, fitness, and apparel.

Moody's recovered a akin divide. Energy, housing, groceries, and healthcare devour 63% of low-income budgets. Those costs sorb lone 31% of spending for apical earners.

This imbalance keeps header depletion figures looking healthy. Meanwhile, millions of households proceed pulling back. Bank of America warned that aggregate information hides increasing accent beneath the surface.