‘Funflation’ making hobbies pricier, but consumers are spending anyway

It’s getting more expensive to have fun in America, but consumers are splurging anyway, seeking out experiences ranging from outdoor activities to video games.

The Bank of America’s latest analysis suggested that “funflation” — the increased cost of fun — may be rising, but consumers aren’t cutting back.

In fact, spending on hobbies, which ranges from arts and crafts and hobby shops to retailers selling skiing, hiking, camping, or scuba diving gear, grew 7.9% in August 2026, year on year, per the bank.

This was double the growth of actual transactions, which were up 3.4%, meaning consumers are making more hobby purchases overall, as well as spending more on those hobbies.

“Funflation is the escalating cost of leisure activities, which is seen across prices from gas for weekend cars to ice creams on holiday,” John Gathergood, an economics professor at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., told CNBC.

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index data found that the recreation index, which includes video and audio, pets and pet services, sporting goods, photography and recreational reading, rose 2.7% in the 12 months through August.

Meanwhile, sales at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, and book stores rose 10.7% in the 12 months through August, outpacing the 6% increase in total U.S. retail and food-services sales over the same period, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Advance Monthly Retail Trade Report.

“When prices rise, consumers might substitute between activities,” Gathergood said. “More hobbies at home might replace holidays away. More food made at home might replace eating out. So, people may be spending more on hobbies, but are spending less on other activities the hobbies are replacing.”

Jet fuel prices were last $194 per barrel for the week ending Sept. 18, up 116% from the prior year’s average, according to the International Air Travel Association’s Jet Fuel Price Monitor.

U.S. airfare prices have increased 26.5% year-on-year, according to federal data in August.

“By foregoing travel abroad, consumers can free up substantial amounts of cash to spend on hobbies at home,” The University of Nottingham’s Gathergood said.

Dan Wasiolek, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar, told CNBC that the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated a shift towards “spending on experiences rather than ‘things,'” even as consumer confidence and savings come under pressure.

Wasiolek noted that higher-income families have continued to travel despite higher costs, and regular Americans also said they’d spend on travel over the summer period.

They planned to spend an average of nearly $2,900 on travel in the summer, according to a PWC survey in April of over 2,000 adults. Some 71% of respondents said they expect to spend the same or more than the previous summer.