Changes in Consumption in the Early COVID-19 Era: Zip-Code Level Evidence from the U.S.

2021/10/11 by Hakan Yilmazkuday · 1 voice · 1 citation
Business, Management and Accounting · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts #Consumer Retail Behavior Studies #Human Mobility and Location-Based Analysis

paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/jrfm14100478

openalex publication_date 2021/10/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

Using monthly zip-code level data on credit card transactions covering 16 U.S. cities, this paper investigates changes in consumption at local commercial places during the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era. Since using aggregate-level data can suppress valuable information on consumption patterns coming from zip codes, the main contribution is achieved by estimating common factors across zip codes that are controlled for factors that are zip-code and time specific as well as those that are zip-code and sector specific. The estimation results based on common factors across zip codes show that relative consumption of products and services that can be consumed at home (e.g., grocery, pharmacy, home maintenance) has increased up to 56% amid COVID-19 compared to the previous year, whereas relative consumption of products and services that cannot be consumed at home (e.g., fuel, transportation, personal care services, restaurant) has decreased up to 51%. Similarly, after controlling for the corresponding factors, online shopping has increased up to 21%, while its expenditure share has increased by up to 16% compared to the pre-COVID-19 period.

Citations

• How Does Household Spending Respond to an Epidemic? Consumption during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic
• How many jobs can be done at home?
• COVID‐19 and unequal social distancing across demographic groups

Cited by

• Uneven effects of monetary policy: Sectoral disparities in credit card spending

Discussions

• This U.S. zip-code study of the early pandemic finds that spending on at-home items (like groceries) surged up to 56%, while out-of-home categories (like restaurants) plummeted up to 51%. doi.org/10.3 [bsky, 1 points, 0 comments]

Related

• Businesses in high-income zip codes often saw sharper visit reductions during the COVID-19 pandemic
• How Does Household Spending Respond to an Epidemic? Consumption during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic
• Consumer responses to the COVID‐19 crisis: evidence from bank account transaction data*
• Impact of COVID-19 on human mobility and retail sales in the US
• We Are What We Buy: Extracting urban lifestyles using large-scale delivery records