Insee Première · June 2021 · n° 1864

In 2020, household consumption falls, while purchasing power holds up

In 2020, household final consumption expenditure falls by 7.1% in volume, due to the COVID-19 health crisis and the measures taken to contain the spread of the epidemic. With the exception of spending on food and beverages, which is rising markedly, the main consumption items are slowing down or falling sharply. The fall in consumption in volume is particularly strong for spending on restaurants and accommodation services, transport and leisure and culture.

At the same time, household disposable income increases slightly in real terms (+0.4%, after +2.6% in 2019), with gross disposable income increasing in current euros (+1.0%, after +3.4%) and prices growing slightly (+0.6%, after +0.8%). The slight increase in the purchasing power of household disposable income combined with the sharp drop in household consumption leads to an exceptional increase in the saving rates in 2020 (+6.3 points on average per year).