L.A. spending up sharply

spending.jpgThe average L.A. household spent almost $3,600 in March, compared with a little over $3,000 for the same period a year earlier, according to Bundle.com. The 17 percent increase was higher than the national average of 12.5 percent, and it covered all categories: shopping, food and drink, health and family, house and home, getting around (transportation), and travel and leisure. The Bundle numbers exclude taxes, mortgage, and rent. The spending bump just confirms earlier government data, but it provides a local slant. (Did you know Angelenos spent 13.5 percent more on personal care in the first quarter than a year earlier?) The year-earlier comparisons are pretty easy considering that nobody was spending any money in March 2009. Add to that a dash of optimism, especially among the more affluent households.

The causes may well be psychological -- one reason economists think it's unlikely to last. At the beginning of the year, consumers gradually came around to the idea that, no matter how bad things were, they weren't likely to get much worse. The biggest of the layoffs and pay cuts seemed to be over. Months of abstinence had created small pockets of savings. Consumers felt comfortable again, explained Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Economy.com, and there was stuff they wanted to buy. We were hungry, and so we ate.

So here's how it breaks out in L.A.

March 2010
--Shopping $831
--Food & drink $760
--Health & family $750
--House & home $557
--Getting around $426
--Travel & leisure $270
Total household spending $3,594

March 2009
--Shopping $669
--Food & drink $660
--Health & family $635
--House & home $476
--Getting around $403
--Travel & leisure $228
Total household spending $3,071

Photo: AP


More by Mark Lacter:
American-US Air settlement with DOJ includes small tweak at LAX
Socal housing market going nowhere fast
Amazon keeps pushing for faster L.A. delivery
Another rugged quarter for Tribune Co. papers
How does Stanford compete with the big boys?
Those awful infographics that promise to explain and only distort
Best to low-ball today's employment report
Further fallout from airport shootings
Crazy opening for Twitter*
Should Twitter be valued at $18 billion?
Recent stories:
Letter from Down Under: Welcome to the Homogenocene
One last Florida photo
Signs of Saturday: No refund
'I Am Woman,' hear them roar
Bobcat crossing

New at LA Observed
On the Media Page
Go to Media

On the Politics Page
Go to Politics
Arts and culture

Sign up for daily email from LA Observed

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner


Advertisement
Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
 
Mark Lacter, business writer and editor was 59
The multi-talented Mark Lacter
LA Observed on Twitter and Facebook