The Tchotchke Index ticked up in 2014, with average household spending on gift shop items, home decor trinkets, and yard sale finds rising to $111. The rise in the index is a positive economic indicator. The more we're willing to spend on tchotchkes, the greater our economic well-being. Demo Memo Blog created the Tchotchke Index several years ago to track consumer confidence (here is the original post). It's the amount of money spent by the average household on "decorative items for the home," a category in the Consumer Expenditure Survey.
The Tchotchke index remains well below its peak. In 2000, the average household spent $263 (in 2014 dollars) on decorative items for the home. Spending plunged during the recession of the early 2000s, struggled to reach $236 in 2005, then plummeted during the Great Recession. The index hit an all-time low of $104 in 2013...
Tchotchke Index (in 2014 dollars)
2014: $111
2013: $104
2012: $131
2011: $123
2010: $110
2009: $142
2008: $139
2007: $177
2006: $166
2005: $236
2004: $208
2003: $168
2002: $198
2001: $202
2000: $263
Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Consumer Expenditure Survey
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