Expenditure responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

We examine how the COVID-19 contagion influences consumer expenditure patterns. We show that the consumption expenditure responses to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic are significantly different between the older and younger generations. We find that older adults spend less than the younger generation by at least 5% during the pandemic. In fact, those aged above 60 significantly decrease their spending even on food and drink products by 13%. We also find that older adults forgo shopping in favor of the younger generation. These responses might be due to the fear of COVID-19 infection (Immordino et al., 2022). •We examine how the COVID-19 contagion influences consumer expenditure patterns.•The expenditure responses during COVID-19 are significantly different.•Older adults spend less than the younger generation by at least 5%.•Older adults forgo shopping in favor of the younger generation.•These different responses might be due to the fear of COVID-19 infection.