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RAPAPORT... Gallup determined that U.S. consumers spent an average of $77 per day in August, up from $73 in July, and the best August spending level recorded since 2008. The daily average in August was also the strongest figure since December 2008. The group found that for U.S. households with incomes of $90,000 or less, the daily spending average was $63 in August, up from $59 in July. Households with income above that amount kept daily spending at $135 per day, unchanged from the previous month. The average U.S. household income is roughly $50,000 . Gallup described the pattern in August as atypical, since usually spending increases are driven by upper-income households, which has been the case so far this year. So far, lower- and middle-income consumers have their held average daily spending to levels recorded in 2011.
Looking ahead, job market improvement could encourage more spending, however, Gallup concluded that it would take a lot more than higher wages and job opportunities to get daily spending figures back to the levels achieved before the Great Recession.
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