Mark Whitehouse, Columnist

Americans Spend More on Stuff They Don't Need

Buying frills plays a growing role in U.S. economic expansions.

November 2, 2015 at 12:00 PM UTC

Mark Whitehouse is a member of the editorial board covering global economics and finance. Previously, he reported on economics for the Wall Street Journal and was managing editor of Vedomosti, a Russian-language business daily.

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What makes the U.S. economy grow? A look at consumer spending data offers a simple if perhaps troubling answer: Increasingly, it's people buying stuff they don't need.

Any effort to separate wants from needs involves subjectivity. One person's luxury may be another's necessity. That said, some categories of spending tracked by the Bureau of Economic Analysis -- such as jewelry and restaurants -- consist primarily of stuff that pretty much anyone, if pressed, could do without. Such goods and services make up almost a fifth of personal consumption, or an annualized $2.3 trillion in the three months through September.