Mastercard CEO says consumers' fears about the economy haven't affected their spending yet: 'They still want to make that trip'
Consumer confidence levels may be dropping, but consumer spending doesn't reflect it.
That's according to Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach, speaking at Semafor's World Economy Summit.
"The consumer today is an empowered consumer that will still stick to what they want to do," he said.
Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said spending hasn't noticeably changed yet in spite of growing anxieties about shifting tariffs, a possible recession, and the weakening dollar.
"The consumer today is an empowered consumer that will still stick to what they want to do," Miebach said at Semafor's 2025 World Economy Summit on Wednesday. "They still want to make that trip."
Miebach said that while "soft data" like headlines and consumer confidence studies would suggest a pullback in consumer spending, there is currently no evidence of that in the real-time spending information that Mastercard monitors.
"The hard data is not reflecting yet where the consumer is," he said.
In March, for example, he pointed out a 1.4% increase in consumer spending, which he said was "nothing out of the ordinary."
"It's the most asked question that I get and then when I say what I just said. People say there must be something more," Miebach said about consumer spending. "But right now there is not."
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