February 3, 2009

The collapse of discretionary spending is simply shocking


Americans spent and spent and spent and spent and spent and spent.

And then they didn't.

Here's the US data since June, showing the biggest collapse in consumer spending ever. It all makes sense, except movies. Gotta still go see movies folks... But when Ford, GM and Chrysler's impending failure is again the top headline in March, you'll know why. And look for airlines, sporting goods stores and hotel chains to start closing up pretty soon too...

* motor vehicles (-38.7%)
* movies (-36.6%)
* air travel (-32.7%)
* sporting goods (-12.7%)
* hotels (-12.5%)
* casinos (-11.7%)
* jewelry (-10.3%)
* furniture (-9.8%)
* home improvement (-8.2%)
* appliances (-7.3%)
* clothing (-6.6%)
* computers (-6.5%)
* electronics (-6.5%)
* toys (-3.3%)
* books (-2.3%)

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a good thing.

Maybe another 15% out of the original 40% decline to go and we will have corrected.

blogger said...

Good report from Utah:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmcKSAwbYFI&feature=channel_page

Bukko Boomeranger said...

Didn't see expenditures on "sporting events" like tickets for the second-best-in-the-world St. Louis Cardinals on that list. (You mean they're not in St. Louis any more? Like the "Baltimore" Colts and the Cleveland "Brownravens"? Sports team owners are just as venal as bank maggots.)

Anyway, the Bush Depression won't become fully real to the mass of Americans until big league sports franchises start going down. How many teams will be in the running for Super Bowl 2011?

Peak Oil. Peak Credit. Peak Human Population. No Worries.

But Peak Sports Teams?

OH!
MY!
GOD!

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith How much were gun sales up?. Every time I go to a gun store people are buying.

Anonymous said...

Isn't there some way to keep an economy going without having to buy tons of crap?

blogger said...

I would imagine that pro sports is gonna get killed. Talk about discretionary spending, especially if you want watch the game on TV

And most of their income comes from corporate boxes and sponsorships and naming rights.

Bye-bye.

Watch for big reductions in player salaries, and strikes next time union deals come around.

Anonymous said...

The most valuable team in the NFL with the most $$ has already laid off 23 people. The Washington Redskins, Folks....I also saw they were HIRING a Box Seating Sales Rep. I guess the old person, gave up on the lack of business out there.

Professional Sports will definitely feel this. Citigroup is going to pull out of the 400 Million dollar deal with the Mets Stadium.

Some Nascar Teams supposedly need major sponsership as many companies have pulled out. I think sponsership for all these sports figures is coming to a halt.

Tiger Woods already lost Buick. Who's next?

And....

Only a 8.2% loss in Home Improvement? That figure is bogus. It's more like a 40% loss. Without home equity loans, there is no home improvement industry!

Peahippo said...

I betcha restaurants and theaters still have good sales. People eat when they're depressed. People resort to fantasies when they're trapped. However, the DOPES-clones of the world use those indications to say "some crash!".

Miss Goldbug said...

Marriott Hotel in Plesasanton CA just went bankrupt.

I think a lot of these small business hotels will go under in the next two years.

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm going to Ft.Laudie on a cruise in 2 weeks & the hotel I always stay at pre-cruise wants another 100 bucks per night (was 125, now 225)

what the hell is up with that if they are hurting / dying?

Anonymous said...

How often do you hear about the NET WORTH of Americans? Who said accounting should be mandatory in the schools?

GDP is based on Americans being DUMB!

Then our lying moron economists don't talk about what we lose on depreciation.

Buy a $3,000 laptop with your credit card and make minimum payments. Lose $2,000 in depreciation in 2 years and have a computer worth $1,000. What will the credit card balance still owed be? More than $2,000?

That is REAL SMART but it increased GDP. GDP shows how fast the majority of dummies are making the rich richer.

Economists don't talk about demand side DEPRECIATION.

Anonymous said...

"Sports team owners are just as venal as bank maggots."

Not Ralph Wilson of the Bills. He is fighting like hell to keep the Bills in Buffalo , a dying to dead market.

"it's not about the money , it's about the competition."
--Ralph Wilson , Hall of Fame inductee .

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...
Well, I'm going to Ft.Laudie on a cruise in 2 weeks & the hotel I always stay at pre-cruise wants another 100 bucks per night (was 125, now 225)

what the hell is up with that if they are hurting / dying?

February 3, 2009 2:56 PM"

Greater Fools like YOU that will bitch about it but still pay it...

Idiot.

Anonymous said...

To attract new 'consumers'-fans, Nascar hould re-configure the tracks into figure 8's. This way there will be more heinous crashes ending in death.

DIE NASCAR

Anonymous said...

Be sure to exclude gun shops from sporting goods stores. Went to the shop/range this weekend, had to wait 2 hours to get a stall. Way too many pocket protector wearing nerds with guns, trying to explain their poor shooting with physics.

Bukko, I concur, when football starts to fail it will be game over...

Anonymous said...

Greater Fools like YOU that will bitch about it but still pay it...

Uh, nope I'm not paying it!

I'll be staying elsewhere, cheaper.

Sorry, I still can go on vaca -

sold the DC house in '05 & renting !

Bwwaahhh...all the way to the freakn' Bank / mattress !!!

Anonymous said...

.
I do not know the exact numbers about total gun sales of late,

but I do know they are staggering!

Ammunition is flying off the shelves especially at Wal-Mart

That ought to tell ya something about our confidence!

Anonymous said...

WHERE DID SPENDING INCREASE?

Bankruptcy, Foreclosure and Divorce are keeping lawyers rolling in dough.

Gardening supplies. Firearms. Bio-diesel, Solar and wind energy.

People are repairing vehicles, remodeling, riding bikes and watching a whole lot of TV instead of buying new.


What about things that are positive about having less money?

Are fewer illegal Drugs being bought? Is prostitution down?
Is tobacco off?

While gluttonous Americans were on a spending binge, I was preparing for the worst. I paid off my mortgage, built raised garden beds in the backyard, installed solar on my roof, low flow water devices, energy efficient bulbs, hot water timer, unplugged phantom electrical using devices, added insulation in my attic and I bought 2 years of long shelf life dehydrated foodstuffs from the local LDS, Mormon Church going guys at the corner.

No debt, mortgage free, energy and food independent spendthrift in Arizona.

Anonymous said...

If you want to travel back in time, say about 2003 to 2006, come to Gainesville Florida. Mall parking lot full, restaurants full, streets packed with people going to eat,shop,movie ect. No one seems to work. A basic frame house 2300sf is 350,000 on MLS.

????????

Anonymous said...

WHERE DID SPENDING INCREASE?

Bankruptcy, Foreclosure and Divorce are keeping lawyers rolling in dough.

Gardening supplies. Firearms. Bio-diesel, Solar and wind energy.

People are repairing vehicles, remodeling, riding bikes and watching a whole lot of TV instead of buying new.


What about things that are positive about having less money?

Are fewer illegal Drugs being bought? Is prostitution down?
Is tobacco off?

While gluttonous Americans were on a spending binge, I was preparing for the worst. I paid off my mortgage, built raised garden beds in the backyard, installed solar on my roof, low flow water devices, energy efficient bulbs, hot water timer, unplugged phantom electrical using devices, added insulation in my attic and I bought 2 years of long shelf life dehydrated foodstuffs from the local LDS, Mormon Church going guys at the corner.

No debt, mortgage free, energy and food independent spendthrift in Arizona.

Anonymous said...

"How many teams will be in the running for Super Bowl 2011?"

How many teams were there in 1970? What's your point? More sports teams were a symptom of the bubble. Expect some to be lost as well.

Anonymous said...

"Only a 8.2% loss in Home Improvement? That figure is bogus. It's more like a 40% loss. Without home equity loans, there is no home improvement industry!"

...and I say your numbers are bogus. Let me reach down and pull...POP! 10% growth in January alone out of my ass.

Who the hell do you think you are? Do you even have friends, and if so, how many of them have told you to STFU, you little girl?

Anonymous said...

"Buy a $3,000 laptop with your credit card and make minimum payments. Lose $2,000 in depreciation in 2 years and have a computer worth $1,000. What will the credit card balance still owed be? More than $2,000?"

Who really needs a 3K laptop? And who really needs a credit card to buy a laptop? The people you are describing were dumb, material subhumans all on their own, they don't need help.

Anonymous said...

re:Way too many pocket protector wearing nerds with guns

HEY! I resemble that insemination!
Seriously, though, the CCW class I went to recently was packed.

Darren Gainesville is a college town like Tallahassee. We're less affected (I won't get into why- it would insult too many people).

Anonymous said...

And as for movies, we still watch 'em. But we usually just wait for them to come out on Netflix.

Anonymous said...

bwahahaha...the Messiah's "Budget Czar" nominee can't even budget her household finances. Has she heard about MS Money or Quicken? Now Keith Cheerleader will say that's all Pelosi's fault. Let's see, Treasury Secretary doesn't pay his taxes, Daschle either, Budget Czar has liens for unpaid taxes...Oh man, that's what I call "change". Here, from your hero MSBC:

When Nancy Killefer's nomination was announced by Obama on Jan. 7, The Associated Press disclosed that in 2005 the District of Columbia government had placed a lien on her home in the upscale Wesley Heights neighborhood. The local government alleged that she had started missing payments on unemployment compensation tax for a household employee. And she failed to make the required quarterly payments for a year and half, whereupon a lien for $946.69 was placed on her home.

Just another taxpayer parasite from Washington, with the usual "I'M A TAXPAYER PARASITE & ASSOCIATES" type of BS front business. You know, like the ones Geithner worked for thanks to his daddy connections.

Oh yeah, lots of change! You've been gamed, as usual, geniuses.

Anonymous said...

And yet, fools are buying AAPL.

Anonymous said...

Porno and hookers and alcohol?
How much is that down?

Up I bet.

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith How much were gun sales up?. Every time I go to a gun store people are buying.

Just bought a AR-15 and the store was packed. Lots of people know that the NWO, along with their puppet Messiah, is working fast to erase the 2nd Amend.

Someone has to defend this country and constitution, while the California parasites keep playing with iPhone widgets, or hide in another country.

Anonymous said...

Please note that the book drop was compensated by an increase in Library usage, as indicated on the Wall Street Journal:

http://tinyurl.com/7ttff9

Anonymous said...

"Only a 8.2% loss in Home Improvement? That figure is bogus. It's more like a 40% loss. Without home equity loans, there is no home improvement industry!"

...and I say your numbers are bogus. Let me reach down and pull...POP! 10% growth in January alone out of my ass.

------------

Anon,

Your number of 10% growth is from when? When you get ZERO business in December, I am sure you can get a 10% POP in January. All you have to do is get 1 customer.

You must have a relative who is a realtor! lol...

IDIOT. Home Improvement is down significantly unless you are fixing up foreclosures... What industry are you in anyway and where are you located?

Anonymous said...

Hi Keith - Just wondering where you got these figures for discretionary spending from?

Anonymous said...

Lots of talk in here about gun buying. What for? Having one in your hand? Did you remember to load it? Know how to aim it? And most of all when push comes to shove are you SURE you can take another human's life? Or do you think it lying in the nightstand will scare the buggermen away on its own? Gun Owning is different from Gun Using to Kill a human being. I am all for having a gun but ONLY IF you can handle the circumstances of doing so. I have 20 years in the military, and another 10 in law enforcement. Most people who kill with guns for ANY reason face winding up in the gas chamber. Keep that in mind. GET GOOD TRAINING before popping in the ammo!

Anonymous said...

"Porno" and hookers and alcohol?"

Well, RedTube & other near freebie sites are killing porn sales.

Ho's... well, if you read about the Mustang Ranch, sales have been dropping off and they had to lower hourly rates.

Booze... outside of mid-price stuff, the Cuervo's, the Gordons, etc, are also falling down. The Patrons, the Grey Gooses, and the top shelf stuff is selling less.

Anonymous said...

Hey tough guy with 20 years of military time, come by and see if I have the balls to blast you. God you sound like a real estate agent, I know better then anyone else.

Anonymous said...

Calling BS most murders are either unsolved or reduced to manslaughter . You will be very unlikely to get a ticket to the gas chamber. If america falls apart and you have to defend your house and family the police will be doing the same for their family and no changes or investigation will ever be done.

Anonymous said...

I asked my daughter's friend, who is in charge of the gun department at a chain sporting goods store, about sales. He said, "They're up 700% and we're out of ammunition and can't keep it in stock." I'm not sure if the 700% is an actual figure or metaphoric.

He says most buyers are concerned about losing the 2nd ammendment. So that's the news from one store in upstate NY, where a lot of people hunt.

As for me, nothing about my life or discretionary spending has changed. We're partially remodeling a bathroom, probably not enough for Kendra Todd. But then, I never spend money I don't have.

I have to admit that I find some of these thrifty-advice givers on TV to be a joke. Advice about "saving $30 or $40 monthly, by not dialing 411" or "coupons for taking your kids out to eat" are simply lost on me. Is this what is now considered cutting back? Really, the average American is that out of touch with money management? We know all these "brilliant" appointees, people with every advantage, can't seem to manage their personal finances well enough to pay their taxes. If this the state of financial management in the United States, budgeting ought to be taught in every school at every level.

All of them could take a lesson from those of us, who do not go into debt and actually pay our taxes on time and without penalty. Which is why, when the SHTF I'll be fine and these fools won't!

Anonymous said...

I bet gun sales are propping up the sporting goods number. Ammo too (lots of people have been doing an "Obama stock up" -- really!).

A bit before Christmas I was in a gun shop (picking up a Blackhawk in .357, thank you very much) the place was an absolute madhouse. People buying big time! Hopefully they will start to back off so ammo prices get back down to where they were 5 months ago.

Anonymous said...

"If america falls apart and you have to defend your house and family the police will be doing the same for their family and no changes or investigation will ever be done."
_________________________________

That's right, because the criminals would be running around like a pack of wild dogs. They'd rip apart anyone who can't protect themselves.

The liberals can bitch all they want, but nothing changes the fact that being defenceless never helped anybody. Yes, in an ideal world, words would be all it would take to solve every single problem imaginable. Sadly, that is not the case. Just the way it's always been. (and always will be)

All of us gun owners hope and pray we never have to shoot somebody. But sometimes, we simply do not have a choice. When the time comes, either we take that shot or we die, or someone we love dies. That's it.

And no, I'm not a member of the NRA. I just see the world clearly.

Depressing? Yes, extremely. But if you have to do it to save your family, then it must be done.

Anonymous said...

Lots of talk in here about gun buying. What for? Having one in your hand? Did you remember to load it? Know how to aim it? And most of all when push comes to shove are you SURE you can take another human's life?

Why don't break into my house at 3 AM to find out.

Anonymous said...

DoD research revealed that a population without food for 4 days begins to riot, and in 10 days begins to kill each other. True research based on historical data.

How's that french door?

Anonymous said...

Keith,

I know you were saying deflation in the short term and inflation in the longer term.

What to modify your statement to say deflation in the short & medium term?

-Mike

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