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Older consumers drive the U.S. economy. An AARP report projects that by 2060, the 50-plus population will be responsible for 61 percent of all domestic consumer spending, up from 56 percent in 2024.
But the way Americans choose to spend their money is constantly changing. Economic forces like inflation and rising interest rates, along with changes in technology and consumer behavior, have pushed many consumers away from certain purchases.
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Here’s a look at nine things Americans spent considerably less on in recent years.
Swimming pools
Pool construction surged during the pandemic, as Americans spent more time at home and upgraded their outdoor living spaces. In 2021 alone, an estimated 120,000 residential inground pools were built, according to a 2026 report by pool service software company Pool Founder. But pool construction has tumbled below pre-pandemic levels, with just 72,000 built in 2025, as rising interest rates and material costs have hampered many homeowners’ ability to finance this big-ticket purchase, according to the Pool Founder report.
Motor homes
If you’re an older American with a motor home, you’re certainly not alone. Nearly 40 percent of recreational vehicle (RV) owners are 55 or older, according to the RV Industry Association.
But the pandemic-induced frenzy that drove motor home production to a peak in 2021, when manufacturers shipped more than 600,000 RVs to dealers, has been steadily slowing. In 2025, manufacturers shipped about 342,000 RVs and are expected to ship about 314,000 in 2026.
Wine
More and more Americans are skipping that glass (or two) of cabernet with dinner. Wine sales fell to their lowest level in two decades in 2025, wine industry publication Vinetur reported.
The decline has been driven, in large part, by the changing habits of older adults. “Boomers are now aging out of their peak consumption years — sunsetting, as I like to say — and they are being replaced by millennials and Gen Z drinkers who have a fundamentally different relationship with alcohol,” wrote Silicon Valley Bank’s Rob McMillan in his “State of the U.S. Wine Industry 2026” report. Not only do younger adults drink less, but when they do drink, they’re more likely to opt for beer or spirits, he noted in the report.
Cable TV subscriptions
The rise of streaming services for both recorded and live programming has given cord-cutters an increasing array of non-cable options for home entertainment. As a result, the share of consumers with a cable TV or satellite subscription fell from 63 percent in 2022 to 49 percent in 2025, according to the Deloitte Center for Technology, Media and Telecommunications.
And make no mistake, older consumers are on the streaming bandwagon: Eighty-three percent of adults ages 50 to 64 and 65 percent of adults 65 and older use streaming services, according to a 2025 Pew Research report.
Boats
Boat owners skew older, with a median age of 60 in the U.S., according to a 2025 report from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). But boat sales fell nearly 9 percent from 2024 to 2025, according to NMMA.
The decline reflects diminished consumer demand against a backdrop of inflation and higher interest rates for boat loans.
Furniture
Sales at furniture and home furnishing stores slid 1.6 percent in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the previous year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s advance monthly estimates of national retail and food services sales for August 2026. And several furniture stores have filed for bankruptcy in the past year.
The slowdown may reflect declining home sales, which have led to fewer people furnishing new houses, and higher interest rates, which make big-ticket furniture purchases more difficult for borrowers.
Motorcycles
Boomers helped fuel motorcycle sales over the past several decades. But as the generation has aged, sales of these symbols of freedom and adventure have lagged. PowerSports Business magazine reported in February that sales of new motorcycles fell 8 percent in 2025 compared with 2024. Younger generations are turning toward smaller, more affordable sport and trail bikes.
Landlines
The ubiquity of cellphones has led to a decline in the use and purchase of traditional landline phones. In 2025, around 8 in 10 adults ages 45 to 64 and more than 6 in 10 adults 65 and older lived in households with only wireless phone service, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Anything from department stores
The majority of older U.S. consumers still prefer shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, but a growing number are shopping online. That shift, combined with the growth of online discount retailers, the rise of fast fashion and the nationwide decline of shopping malls, has put pressure on department stores. Sales have been roughly $3 billion per month in 2026, compared with sales of $5 billion per month in 2018, according to Census Bureau data.
The decline has forced the closure of hundreds of department stores, a trend that appears poised to continue. Macy’s, for example, announced earlier this year that it was closing 14 stores across a dozen states and expects closures to continue through 2028. Saks Global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and closed more than half of its stores.
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