Summer of Spending: Trends in Retail, Restaurants and Travel

U.S. consumers actively spent over the summer of 2025, directing their dollars not only toward goods but also toward experiences, despite ongoing economic uncertainty. From rising apparel sales to steady restaurant growth and increased short-stay travel, this summer season’s spending trends highlight consumer resilience and shifting priorities.

Apparel Remains on a Hot Streak

Since the end of 2024, spending on clothing and accessories has trended upward. A portion of the rise was attributed to inflation, but then this summer, the consumer price index (CPI) for apparel dipped, making the growth in sales stand out. In June, clothing and accessories sales rose nearly 4.7% year-over-year. In July, the figure climbed to almost 5.0%. Back-to-school sales are a key driver of this surge, but there are also some unexpected sources. A recent survey by consumer analytics platform CivicScience, found that 21% of respondents had already started shopping for the 2025 holiday season, up from 16% in 2024. 21% of shoppers have already started holiday shopping—up from 16% in 2024.

This burst in spending may help shift the narrative for apparel occupiers. After taking hits from e-commerce platforms and overseas apparel rivals such as Shein and Temu, the sector has navigated obstacles, with several brands posting growth in 2Q 2025. Although tariff issues persist, many retailers have proactively stocked up for the 2025 holiday season and are well-positioned to navigate potential headwinds.

Restaurants Locked into Cruise Control

Consumers continue to dine out despite elevated food-away-from-home prices, opting to skip grocery runs in favor of restaurant experiences. Since March, monthly sales for food services and drinking places have averaged a 6.3% rise over 2024, with June reaching 6.7% growth. July growth slowed to 5.6%, but this is still higher than the 4.4% growth in July 2024. Some restaurateurs have observed that diners are spending less, particularly by ordering fewer alcoholic beverages and desserts, often choosing to share desserts rather than ordering individual portions. This matches broader data, as data from online reservation service OpenTable shows the volume of restaurant diners continues to outpace 2024, with July seeing 10% more diners and August seeing 11% more diners on a year-over-year basis.

Restaurant spending remains near all-time highs as a share of total retail sales, averaging 18.5% since the beginning of 2Q 2025. Despite ongoing increases in food and labor costs, dining out is a steady part of U.S. culture and is expected to remain so through the second half of 2025 and beyond.

U.S. Consumers are Still Eager to Travel

Summer travel is still in style, even if trips are a bit shorter. According to Placer.ai, domestic trips of seven days or fewer rose significantly from 2024. This is especially true in major markets such as Houston, Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago and New York, with New York welcoming nearly 14% more short-stay visitors than last year. While in town, visitors aren’t sticking to tight budgets. CoStar data through July 2025 reveals that across hotel classes, consumers are most willing to splurge on luxury properties, where the average daily rate (ADR) is up 2.1% over last year—the highest increase among all four classes.

Even as consumers begin to “trade down” on purchases and watch discretionary spending more closely, travel remains an escape many continue to prioritize, even if trip lengths are shorter. Domestic travel is expected to hold steady, as people continue to splurge on experiences and journeys.

Final Takeaways

Even as consumers watch their wallets more closely, the pursuit of creating experiences remains a priority. Apparel’s rebound, resilient restaurant spending and strong domestic travel suggest that Americans are still willing to pay for what feels meaningful to them. Yet the question for the second half of 2025 is whether this spending power can withstand the headwinds of rising tariffs, persistent inflation, and broader economic uncertainty—or if a shift toward more cautious, value-driven choices will begin to reshape the retail and hospitality landscape.

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^{Figure 1: Source: St. Louis FRED, August 2025, Figure 2: Source: St. Louis FRED, August 2025, Figure 3: Source: The Summer Slowdown: Why Consumers are Pumping the Brakes on Travel, Placer.ai, August 7, 2025}