If Personal Income Has Increased, Why Aren’t Consumers Spending More on Lighting?

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, consumers’ personal income increased $71.4 billion (0.3 percent at a monthly rate) in June.

So-called disposable personal income (DPI) – which translates to personal income minus personal current taxes – increased $61.0 billion (0.3 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $69.9 billion (0.3 percent). The modest increase is attributed to higher wages – more than 20 states raised the rate of minimum wage in 2025 – plus an increase in social security benefits and compensation from employer contributions for employee pension and insurance funds. Suddenly, what sounded like such great news – an increase in income! – becomes absorbed by the rising cost of living.

The BEA reports that personal outlays (the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments) increased $69.5 billion in June. It added that the $69.9 billion increase in current-dollar PCE reflected increases of $40.1 billion in spending on services and $29.9 billion in spending on goods.

In evaluating the BEA data, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) concluded that  on a year-over-year basis, real (inflation-adjusted) disposable income rose 1.7%, down from a 6.5% year-over-year peak two years ago in June 2023. NAHB also indicated that spending shows signs of softening.

Last week, participants in a national retail-focused discussion group in the home improvement sector shared some sobering news.  Foot traffic in the major home centers – as well as online sales – appeared to be down anecdotally among the DIY customers (homeowners), however, business on the contractor side remained relatively steady. This switch in focus is behind Lowe’s decision to acquire Artisan Design Group for $1.3 billion in April of this year in order to bolster its pro services business, and Home Depot acquiring SRS Distribution Inc. last year to expand its penetration into an assortment of contractor vertical markets.

The consensus appears to be that as the cost of living and cost of goods (compounded by the tariffs this year) have increased, consumers are redirecting the discretionary dollars they used to allocate toward home improvement projects toward more urgent needs impacting the household. Similarly, the remodeling sector that had been so robust during the pandemic years – and bolstered by government stimulus checks – has shrunk as well. Some consumers pulled the trigger on home improvements earlier than they had planned while the country was in lock-down mode (those types of projects are still fresh and not in need of an update) and others have delayed plans for a major remodel until interest rates and the economy maintain solid footing for at least six or more months in a row.

Where does this leave the lighting showroom sector? As mentioned previously in Lighting News Now, lighting showrooms attending the Lightovation shows in January and June were branching out into carrying reasonably priced, decorative lighting lines that would appeal to hospitality and commercial work that was a cut above the basic budgets serviced by the typical home center.

On the higher end of the residential scale, interior designers say that the luxury market remains steady; however, the project pipeline is showing signs of slowing down. Designers note that there have also been some concessions from homeowners on either the grade of materials that they’d like to have or a pull-back on expansive plans until the economy shows sustained improvement.