Visa Spending Momentum Index

United States


Latest Release

May 11, 2023 - Visa’s U.S. Spending Momentum Index (SMI) rose to 96.4 in April (seasonally adjusted), an increase of 2.1 points from 94.3 in March. While all SMIs except the non-discretionary SMI rose month-over-month (MoM), all components remained below 100, which means that more consumers are spending less than they did in April of last year. The discretionary SMI rose 2 points MoM; however, the non-discretionary SMI nearly offset that increase in the same time frame. On a regional basis, spending momentum rose across all regions of the country except the South from March to April, according to our analysis. The South SMI declined only half of a point MoM and was one of two regions that underperformed the national SMI in April. The decline was heavily influenced by large Texas metro areas such as Houston, San Antonio and Austin losing spending momentum as the extension of COVID-era food stamps ended, constraining lower-income consumers’ budgets.

In this video, global economist Dulguun Batbold introduces Visa’s Spending Momentum Index as a guide to navigate business through economic cycles. He explains how SMI can provide an advance warning of emerging economic weakness at both the national and local levels, helping businesses plan ahead, adjust acquisition plans, reallocate marketing budgets or refocus areas for more risk monitoring.

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