What Do We Spend a Lot More on Now Compared to 2007? Cell Phone Services (U.S. Dept. of Commerce)

The August 16, 2011 issue of TIME magazine Economy section has a great infographic describing changes in consumer spending between between 2007 and now. Why 2007? That year preceded the so-called “Great Recession.”

The category with the biggest loss of consumer spending is postal and delivery services which dropped 28%. Other more obvious categories with drops in consumer spending are not surprising: Clothing repair and alteration (-19%), tobacco (-16%) and new automobiles (-12%).

So, what was the big “winner” in terms of increase in consumer spending between 2007 and now? Cell phone services are up 31%.

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