Household consumption down 0.4% in August according to INSEE

After an increase of 0.5% in July, household consumption fell by 0.4% in August, according to figures published this Wednesday by INSEE. These expenditures on goods, directly borne by households, are divided into three main categories: food, energy (gas, petroleum products, electricity, etc.) and other manufactured goods (textiles, furniture, IT, automobiles, etc.). In detail, energy consumption is down significantly (-2.3%), as well as that of food products (-0.4%). On the other hand, consumption of manufactured goods increased slightly (+0.3%) in August.

Household consumption declines in August

Measured in volume, household consumption had not returned to its pre-crisis pace. While it increased by an average of 2.2% each year from the early 2000s until the 2008 crisis, its growth has been limited to 0.9% per year since. After a resurgence between 2015 and 2019, the dynamic was brutally interrupted by the Covid-19 crisis.

Since then, successive shocks have made households much more cautious. In 2021, consumption was further disrupted by the health crisis, alternating between restrictions and resumptions of activity. Inflation and various conflicts (Ukraine, Middle East) have once again weakened household spending in recent years.

Bad news for growth?

Consumption therefore remains far from its traditional role as the engine of growth. According to the latest INSEE economic report, published in June, household consumption remained in fact “stalled”. Over the whole of 2026, it would only progress very slightly, to the tune of +0.2%. In the second quarter of 2026, faced with a clear drop in purchasing power (expected at -0.7%), recalls the Institute, economic surveys report great gloom among households.

Fears about purchasing power persist