The bar charts illustrate the total proportion of consumer spending across six categories in a European country in 1998 and 2008. Overall, figures for electronic goods remained dominant throughout the period, whereas expenditure on newspapers/magazines and going to the cinema ranked lowest in both years. Notably, eating out was the only category to remain unchanged.
Focusing first on 1998, electronic goods dominated spending, accounting for a significant 16%. This was closely followed by clothing expenses, which recorded roughly 12%. Expenditures on holiday stood at 8%. While eating out consisted of only 6% of people’s spending habits, newspapers/magazines and going to the cinema stood at a low of 3%.
In 2008, spending patterns changed noticeably. The most apparent change was the increase in figures for both electronic goods and clothing, which hit a peak of approximately 20% and 18%, respectively. Expenses related to eating out remained unchanged at 6%, surpassing holiday expenditures, which saw a marginal decline to 5%. Lastly, there was a two-percentage-point drop in the proportion of money allocated to newspaper/magazines and going to the cinema, both of which comprised the same 1%.