WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Today, the JPMorgan Chase Institute released its Local Consumer Commerce Index (LCCI) for April 2017, which showed positive consumer spending growth in 13 of the 15 U.S. cities analyzed. Overall, consumer spending increased by 3.6 percent between April 2016 and April 2017.

Following a trend that began in February, spending by consumers in all income groups and at businesses of all sizes made positive contributions to overall growth in April 2017. Additionally, spending on non-durable goods contributed 1.2 percentage points to growth, a significant bump from the 0.3 percentage point drag on growth in March 2017.

Data visualization of the changes in local consumer spending growth over the last 24 months can be found online.

This report provides a timely view of how the following cities and surrounding metro areas are faring economically, both individually and in aggregate: Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland (OR), San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. By looking at actual, de-identified financial transactions, LCCI offers an ongoing, dynamic view of the financial health of the U.S. consumer and the vibrancy of the places where businesses operate.

“A month earlier we saw the highest year-over-year growth in local consumer commerce in over two years, and now April was even higher,” said Diana Farrell, President and CEO of the JPMorgan Chase Institute. “April’s growth was broad-based, with net positive contributions from spending by consumers of all ages and incomes, who increased their spending at businesses of all sizes. Early signs for March and April are positive, but we will want to see a few more months of sustained momentum to ensure a recovery is underway in local consumer commerce.”

Additional key highlights from the latest Index include:

• New York grew the fastest of the large cities in April 2017, registering a 5.2 percent growth rate. This is the highest growth rate for New York since the 5.6 percent growth rate in May 2014.
• On average, local spending among large cities increased by 3.7 percent in April 2017, a significant increase from the 2.2 percent average growth rate registered in March 2017.
• Detroit grew the fastest of the mid-sized cities, registering a 4.8 percent growth rate in April 2017, a significant increase from the 2.7 percent growth it experienced in March 2017.
• Among smaller cities, Denver grew at 10.4 percent in April 2017, cooling off from the record high 15.8 percent growth rate it registered in March 2017.
• Only Atlanta and Seattle experienced negative growth rates. Spending in Seattle and Atlanta dropped by 6 percent and 0.1 percent in April 2017, respectively.

The LCCI offers unique advantages over existing measures of consumer spending.

• The LCCI captures actual transactions, instead of self-reported measures of how consumers think they spend.
• The LCCI provides timely data on spending in 15 major metropolitan areas; such geographic granularity is unavailable in most other spending measures. These 15 cities mirror the geographic and economic diversity of larger metropolitan areas in the United States and account for 32 percent of retail sales nationwide.
• The LCCI also presents a more granular view of local consumer commerce through five important lenses: consumer age, consumer income, business size, product type, and consumer residence relative to the location of the business. For each lens, we show how different segments contributed to year-over-year spending growth.
• The LCCI captures economic activity in sectors that previously have not been well understood by other data sources. These include sectors such as food trucks, new merchants, and personal services.

Each release of the LCCI describes the economic picture of local communities and provides a powerful tool for city development officials, businesses, investors, and statistical agencies to better understand the everyday economic health of consumers, businesses, and the places they care about.

About the JPMorgan Chase Institute

The JPMorgan Chase Institute is a global think tank dedicated to delivering data-rich analyses and expert insights for the public good. Its aim is to help decision makers – policymakers, businesses, and nonprofit leaders – appreciate the scale, granularity, diversity, and interconnectedness of the global economic system and use better facts, timely data, and thoughtful analysis to make smarter decisions to advance global prosperity. Drawing on JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s unique proprietary data, expertise, and market access, the Institute develops analyses and insights on the inner workings of the global economy, frames critical problems, and convenes stakeholders and leading thinkers. For more information visit: jpmorganchaseinstitute.com.

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