The January Barcode: Wellness spending trends as we head into a new year
The Barcode Report delivers the world’s deepest and most relevant insights on everyday consumer spending. We break down spend data into digestible and actionable facts, highlighting key trends that go beyond what you’d learn from simple card statements. We leverage item-level receipt data accumulated from millions of users across our network of banks, credit unions, and technology partners. The Barcode dives beneath the surface of “how much was spent and where” and provides a true look at what consumers and small businesses are spending their money on.
For January 2022, we analyzed millions of receipts from U.S. and Canadian consumers to explore spending trends related to building a healthier lifestyle.
🇺🇸 Every year in the pandemic is helping Americans build a healthier lifestyle
With a new year beginning, the focus is always on bettering ourselves. Total tracked consumer spend in January 2021 was 10X more than the total tracked consumer spend in January 2020. When we looked at SKU-level data, we found that in 2021, consumers spent 75% more on cleaning & organization supplies, 37% more on grocery store prepared food, and 48% more on fitness-related equipment, clothing & services, when compared to 2020. However, consumers spent 64% less on apparel & clothes in January 2021 when compared to January 2020.
Comparing Consumer Spend Across Top Categories in January 2020 vs January 2021
🇺🇸 2022: A year for the mind & body in the U.S.
Five days into the new year and consumers are already planning for ways to improve overall health and wellness. So far the trends of 2022 seem to align with consumer trends seen in the past two years. When we looked at SKU level data from receipts from 2022, we found that so far, consumer spend in the apparels & clothing category has been 2X that of cleaning & organization supplies, while it has been 1.3 X that of fitness related items and services; 1.5 X that of meal subscription services and 2.5X that of nutritional supplements. Afterall, two years into the pandemic calls for a lifestyle overhaul.
Categories Consumers Spend In Most During the First Month of the Year
🇺🇸 Sit less and move more is the new mantra
The pandemic has not been a friend to activity and workouts. SKU level data shows that in 2021, consumers spent 4X more on fitness equipment than in 2020, and so far in 2022, consumer spend on fitness equipment is 2X that of 2020. Consumer spend on protein shakes also increased 1.6X in 2021 in comparison to 2020 spend.
With the pandemic restricting us to our homes more than ever, we have been in a constant state of decluttering and reorganizing. In both 2020 and 2021, cleaning solutions and tools made up approximately 69% of the consumer spend on cleaning & organizational supplies while storage boxes and solutions made up 31% of the consumer spend on cleaning & organizational supplies.A day of cleaning and organization is no less than a workout.
🇨🇦 Historically, health & finance have been a top priority among Canadian consumers as the new year kicks in
“Health is wealth”. Historically in Canada, this has been the mantra as consumers ring in the new year. Total consumer spend in January 2021 was 1.2X more than the total consumer spend in January 2020. When we looked at SKU-level data we found that in 2021, consumers spent 2X more on fitness equipment, attire & services and 200X more on budgeting apps.
Comparing consumer spend across top categories in January 2020 vs January 2021
🇨🇦 Starting the New year on a clean slate
After nearly two weeks into the new year, consumers are already planning for ways to improve overall health and wellness. So far, the trends of 2022 seem to align with consumer trends seen in the past two years. When we looked at SKU level data from receipts from 2022, we found that consumer spend in the Cleaning & Organization Supplies & Fitness categories have been leading. Within that, consumer spend in the Cleaning & Organization category is approximately 1.2X that of the Fitness category.
Categories Consumers Spend In Most During the First Month of the Year
🇨🇦 2022 New Year’s Resolution: improving fitness and eating habits
The pandemic has not been a friend to activity and workouts. SKU level data shows that in 2021, consumers spent 1.3X more on fitness equipment than in 2020. However, consumer spend on gym memberships dropped to 0 in 2021. Along with ensuring a daily dose of movement, consumers are also becoming attentive about the food they consume daily. In 2021, consumer spending on low-carb or keto-friendly food items during January dropped by 62% while consumer spending on vegan-friendly food items increased by 24% in the same time period.
Leveraging the cloud-native, machine learning-powered Sensibill data platform to access and analyze the SKU-level data, we are able to classify and categorize data into profiles to derive meaningful and actionable insights. As you read above, we can use those insights to determine trends based on a variety of categories.
We’re looking forward to another year ahead of sharing spending insights!
Introducing The Barcode Live
Sensibill's Priyanka and Soham unpack the trends and data from the January edition of the Barcode Report, which focused on new year resolutions, health, and wellness consumer spending. You can watch episode 1 here.
Future episodes will be monthly and focused on that month’s Barcode Report to share more insight into this report and how the Sensibill Data Lab creates these reports.