In Brief: Us Consumer Cools, Rents Normalize

Morgan Stanley

US Consumer

Spending Intentions Have Pulled Back, According to our AlphaWise Survey

Our latest AlphaWise survey of ~2,000 US consumers (conducted January 19-22) points to moderating spending intentions following the holidays. There was a sharp decline in spending plans for the next month, with 27% of respondents expecting to spend more and 22% expecting to spend less, yielding a net reading of just +5% (down from an average of +15% in 2023 and vs. +15% same time last year).