Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan sees a clear shift in consumer behavior in the pet food aisle, where shoppers are trading down from premium brands to lower-priced options as inflation and rising gas prices squeeze household budgets.
“Higher end pet food is not being charged as much on our credit and debit cards as the next brand down,” Moynihan said during a recent interview with NBC News, citing aggregated internal bank data from the nation’s second-largest bank. “People shift around and make room for the higher gas prices. That’s the reality of the day-to-day consumer.”
Monthly spending on Bank of America’s credit and debit cards was up 5% overall in May compared to last year, Moynihan said. Yet the composition of that spending reveals how consumers are adapting to economic pressures. Inflation outpaced wage growth in May for the second month in a row, according to NBC News, and consumers were paying around 40% more at the pump than they were before the U.S. launched a war against Iran.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose to 4.2% in May, the highest level since April 2023, driven in large part by surging energy costs. Gasoline prices averaged around $4.31 per gallon as of early June, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, creating a drag on household finances that forces trade-offs elsewhere.
But the trend of consumers trading down on premium goods is only one part of a broader picture. Moynihan told NBC News that despite affordability pressures, consumers “are still spending on vacations and things like that, which is good for America. They still go out to eat, which is also good. Those are job-creating activities.” This resilience in discretionary spending—even as consumers economize on pet food and other necessities—reflects what Moynihan calls a paradox: Americans say they’re pessimistic about the economy and their finances, yet they continue to spend money.
“We watch what they do, not what they say,” Moynihan said. “They’re spending money and doing things.” However, he cautioned that this dynamic could shift if consumer sentiment translates into actual spending cuts. “If it goes from ‘what they say versus what they do’ to what they’re doing, that’s a real problem for the U.S. economy.”
Bank of America’s access to real-time spending data from nearly 70 million customers gives Moynihan a window into how Americans are navigating inflation and energy costs in 2026. The pet food aisle has become an unlikely indicator of broader consumer resilience and adaptation—a sign that households are making calculated choices to preserve their standard of living even as the cost of living rises.
Sources
- NBC News — Brian Moynihan’s comments on pet food spending, May inflation data, consumer spending trends, and gas price impacts on household budgets
- CNN — May 2026 Consumer Price Index inflation at 4.2%, the highest level since April 2023
- Reuters — May 2026 inflation data and gasoline price impacts on consumer prices
- CNBC — May 2026 inflation breakdown and gasoline price data
