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The Eightx DTC Macro Pulse · Live · updated August 24, 2026

Can your customer still afford to buy?

A monthly read on whether the US consumer can keep spending — so a consumer-brand operator knows whether to push growth or protect margin and cash this quarter. Six Federal Reserve signals, each scored against its own recent range, in one Pulse.

The read · Jul 2026

Demand is holding, but the consumer is stretched.

47.7/ 100 Pulse · higher = healthier · 50 neutral
2 expanding2 neutral2 caution
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What this means for your brand

Defend margin; grow selectively. Demand is still here, but the consumer is thinning their cushion (sentiment and saving rate are rolling over). Keep promo ROI tight, order inventory conservatively, and protect price rather than chase volume.

Demand — can they spend, are they spending

Retail & food-services salesNeutral
+5.0%
year over year · ↓ -1.7pts vs prior month
Consumer demand at the register — all retail plus restaurants, versus a year ago.
E-commerce share of retailExpansionary
17.1%
↑ +0.1% vs prior reading
How much of total retail is bought online — the structural tailwind under DTC.
Real disposable incomeNeutral
+0.5%
year over year · ↑ +0.4pts vs prior month
Inflation-adjusted take-home income — the fuel for discretionary spending.

Consumer health — how much cushion is left

Consumer sentimentContractionary
49.5
↑ +4.7 vs prior reading
How willing households feel to spend (University of Michigan index).
Personal saving rateContractionary
2.7%
↓ -0.1% vs prior reading
Spending headroom — a low, falling rate means consumers have no cushion.
Credit-card delinquency rateExpansionary
2.9%
↓ -0.0% vs prior reading
Share of card balances 30+ days late — the clearest read on consumer stress.
How the Pulse is built & sources

Six series from the Federal Reserve (FRED): retail & food-services sales (RSAFS), the e-commerce share of retail (ECOMPCTSA), University of Michigan consumer sentiment (UMCSENT), the personal saving rate (PSAVERT), real disposable personal income (DSPIC96) and the credit-card delinquency rate (DRCCLACBS). Flow series (sales, income) are shown year over year; the rest as levels.

Each tile's state is self-calibrated, not set by a hand-picked threshold: we take the most recent three readings versus the prior three, normalise that move by the series' own historical volatility, blend it with where the latest reading sits inside its 24-point range, and orient the result so that "healthier for demand" is positive. Scores above +0.30 read Expansionary, below −0.30 Contractionary, in between Neutral. The headline Pulse is the average of the six oriented scores, mapped to a 0–100 scale (50 = neutral). It's a directional read of consumer conditions, not a forecast.

For where input costs are heading, see the DTC Input-Cost Index; for company-level margins and growth, the Public DTC Leaderboard. For the monthly editorial read on these signals see the DTC Macro Pulse analysis, or browse all live indexes. Powered by hub.eightx.co.

Read the signal for your brand

Is the macro tailwind at your back, or in your face?

We turn signals like these into the demand, pricing and inventory calls a DTC brand has to make this quarter. See what the current backdrop means for your plan.

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