In 2020, household consumption expenditure in the EU decreased by an unprecedented 8% in 2020 compared with 2019. This is the largest annual reduction recorded since it has been measured and it is due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing measures, government restrictions imposed on the movement of people and non-essential economic activities severely affected household consumption expenditure.
The largest decreases in household consumption expenditure were observed for ‘Restaurants and hotels’ (-38% compared with 2019), ‘Clothing and footwear, ’Transport’ and ‘Recreation and culture’ (all -17%). On the other hand, the largest increases were recorded for ‘Food and non-alcoholic beverages’ (+3%) and ‘Communications’ (+2%).