Is mobility a good proxy for consumption?

Brian Cepparulo

Economics Letters, 2025, vol. 255, issue C

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between mobility and consumer expenditure using a longitudinal dataset of local-level transactions in the United Kingdom. It distinguishes between online and in-store spending and employs fixed effects models covering the period from February 2020 to March 2022. The analysis finds that retail and recreational mobility consistently serve as reliable proxies for in-store spending, while there is limited evidence of a correlation between online spending and mobility. These findings suggest that mobility data can serve as a valuable proxy for consumer activity in countries lacking high-frequency consumption data.

Keywords: Mobility; Consumption; Transactions; Covid-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 C22 C55 L81 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:255:y:2025:i:c:s0165176525002915

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112454

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