Although threats of a recession still loom, consumers didn’t hold back this Black Friday and Cyber Monday with early reports indicating record sales this year. In fact, consumers spent a record $18.86 trillion in October 2023 on an annualized basis, according to WalletHub’s Consumer Spending Report. That is $4.04 billion more in October than in September, marking the eighth-largest October increase since 2010.
However, as consumer spending is a fundamental economic metric that provides insights into the economy's overall strength and U.S. household balance sheets, and the fact that credit card debt currently stands at $1.079 trillion, breaking shopping records might be viewed as a bit problematic for many families.
