A study by business services firm Alvarez & Marsal concluded households earning more than $100,000 are planning to boost spending in the months ahead — not as many as in the fall of 2025 but more than the previous spring.
Some 18% of households earning more than $100,000 planned to increase spending in the coming months, down from 25% in the fall of 2025 and up from 7% from the spring of 2025. However, households earning less than $100,000 annually on average said they are unwilling to spend more.
By category, in spring 2026, consumers were likely to spend more on food and beverages, up 7% by household on average. The biggest negative sentiment fell in the restaurant category, on which 22% of consumers said they would spend less. In the home and garden category, 9% said they would spend less, an improvement versus the fall of 2025 (17%) and last spring (19%).
According to A&M, the consumer survey on which the study was based suggested that higher-income households are becoming more cautious across earning, spending, and saving, but sentiment among lower-income households is stabilizing and showing early signs of recovery. The company added that consumers are pursuing value by changing their shopping behaviors, trip occasions, and retailer choices, while finding more satisfying shopping at lower-priced retailers and with store brand products, which deliver affordability without significantly sacrificing standards.
At the same time, consumers are buying less while selectively trading up for products that deliver on performance, quality, longevity or premium experiences. Such intentional consumption, A&M indicated, puts a premium on fewer, higher-value purchases over volume-driven spend.
In the current environment, price, convenience and novelty are overtaking brand affinity, with consumers increasingly open to switching products and brands that suit their evolving lifestyles and desire to experiment, with younger demos the most likely to make changes, according to A&M. Consumers are increasingly using digital channels and AI to research and discover products, A&M added, but a large segment still rely on physical stores to make a final decision. The blend of online-driven discovery and store conversion makes a seamless omnichannel experience critical to win over consumers, the company concluded.
