The bar chart compares the expenditure patterns of consumers on various categories in one European country for the years of 1998 and 2008. Overall, there was a shift in people’s spending habits. Electronic goods and clothing emerged as a significant expenses, with their importance growing further by 2008. In contrast, remaining expenditure categories which demanded relatively minor portion of people’s budged, saw a noticeable decrease.
In 1998, consumer’s spending patterns were distributed as follows: electronic devices accounted for the largest share, representing 16%. The expenses on clothing closely followed behind with 12%. Notably, there was a small 2 percentage point difference in the allocation on holiday and eating out, with the former making up 8% and the latter composing 6%. Additionally, expenses related to buying newspaper/magazines and going to the cinema shared the same figures, each comprising 3% of people’s income.
By 2008, the shares of expenditure in one European country across all categories changed considerably. The percentage disparity between the major top two expenses narrowed down, with the income of consumers spent on clothing increasing to 18% and that for electronic goods improving to 20%. The rate of money allocated on eating out remained unchanged with 6%, making it the third most significant sector, surpassing holiday expenditures, which decreased to 5%. Lastly, the percentage of budget expended on going to the cinema and newspaper/magazines both experienced 2-percentage-point drop, both of which made up the same 1%.