Poles are spending more on experiences and less on things

This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers

Rising affluence does not translate into proportionately higher spending across all categories. The data show that as incomes rise, households devote an increasing share of their budgets to services and experiences, and a decreasing share to goods that become relatively cheaper thanks to competition and technology.

One of the best ways to observe shifts in economic trends is to look at household budgets. Statistics Poland (GUS) has been conducting such surveys for many years. They are not perfect, as some households refuse to answer questions from interviewers. Even so, they remain the best source of information available on household spending.

How has spending changed over the past decade? In 2015, it stood at PLN 1,100 (EUR 259) per person per household, while in 2025 it exceeded PLN 2,000 (EUR 471). The increase was 85% in nominal terms, but in real terms it was considerably smaller, owing to very high inflation during part of the period, and amounted to 20%.

Key categories…

The most important categories have remained the same. Food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 24% of all spending in 2015, rising to 25.1% in 2025. Housing and household energy costs ranked second, with their share declining slightly, from 20.1% in 2015 to 19.4% in 2025. Transport was the third-largest category, with its share increasing from 8.8% to 9.8%, followed by recreation and culture, which rose from 6.7% to 7.2%.

Taken together, these four largest categories account for roughly 60% of total household spending.

At first glance, then, there is little spectacular to report. That is largely because the biggest spending categories are relatively inelastic. The more interesting shifts, however, are taking place among categories with smaller shares of household budgets.

…and the categories where the biggest changes are taking place

The chart above shows how the share of spending has changed in four categories: restaurants and hotels, health, communications, and clothing and footwear. The first two saw clear increases, while the latter two recorded sharp declines.

Let us start with the categories that saw the biggest drops. The share of spending on clothing and footwear fell by as much as one-third over the decade. In 2015, the average household devoted 5.4% of its total budget to these items. By 2025, that figure had fallen to just 3.6%.

The decline occurred across all the social groups distinguished by GUS in its data. Among the largest group, employees, the share of spending fell from 6.1% in 2015 to 4% in 2025. Among pensioners and disability-benefit recipients, it declined from 3.5% to 2.4%.

What happened? It would be difficult to argue that Poles have started dressing worse or paying less attention to their appearance over the past decade. Quite the opposite. Much of the answer, however, lies in the price data for these goods.

Between 2015 and 2025, clothing and footwear experienced persistent deflation. Prices in the category fell by an average of 1.2% year-on-year, meaning that, in real terms, clothes in Poland are 9% cheaper than they were in 2015. By comparison, inflation over the period averaged 4.2%, meaning that prices overall rose by that amount year-on-year.

This can, of course, be linked to the expansion of fast fashion, and in recent years in particular to Chinese shopping platforms such as Shein and Temu. Their ethical and environmental impact can be judged in different ways, but intense competition in the clothing sector has clearly driven down the prices of these goods.

Add to that the strong growth in household incomes, and the result is a sharp decline in clothing and footwear's share of household spending.

And what explains the decline in communications spending?

Different forces are behind the decline in spending on communications. The category includes telecommunications, postal and courier services. Its share of household budgets fell by almost a quarter over the decade. In 2015, these expenses accounted for 5% of household budgets; by 2025, that figure had fallen to 3.8%.

The decline was not driven by falling prices. Inflation across the category averaged 2.4% year-on-year over the period. It can be attributed mainly to technological change. The shift to digital document circulation reduced demand for postal services, while the expansion of mobile networks and access to the internet on smartphones has made landlines virtually obsolete. Consumers therefore shed some costs. To some extent, this was offset by rapidly rising demand for courier services, driven by the growth of e-commerce.

Of course, to some extent, the decline in spending on what is broadly defined as communications is also a consequence of rising affluence.

Toward an experience economy

The category with the strongest growth in household spending was restaurants and hotels, where its share rose by 26% in relative terms. In 2015, these expenses accounted for 4.2% of household budgets; by 2025, the figure had risen to 5.3%, despite the Covid-era trough in between.

This seems fairly obvious. A well-documented economic phenomenon is that spending on services increases as people become wealthier. Another clearly visible trend is the development of the so-called experience economy, in which consumers seek services that not only meet their needs but also provide an interesting experience in their own right. Travel fits neatly into this category.

More interesting, however, is the rising share of healthcare spending in household budgets. The increase was not dramatic, but it was noticeable: 13% over the decade, although it was driven mainly by increases over the past two years. In absolute terms, its share rose from 5.3% to 6%.

What is behind the increase? GUS distinguishes two main categories in this area: pharmaceutical products and outpatient services. The share devoted to the former remained broadly stable, at 3.1% of total spending in 2015 and 3% in 2025. The share devoted to services, however, rose markedly, from 1.7% to 2.1% - an increase of 24%. As recently as 2023, it stood at just 1.4%.

There may be several explanations, including an aging population and greater health awareness. But these are long-term processes, and it seems unlikely that they could have driven such a sharp increase in the share of household spending over such a short period.

So what is responsible? It is probably a side effect of the rapid increase in doctors’ earnings in the healthcare sector in recent years. Inflation data for outpatient and health-related services support this explanation. Between 2015 and 2025, prices in the category rose by an average of 7.1% a year. In 2023-2025 alone, however, the increase was significantly higher, averaging 10.4%. As a result, household spending on private healthcare rose markedly.

The structure of Polish household spending remains stable, but priorities are shifting. Between 2015 and 2025, household spending per person increased by 85% in nominal terms and by around 20% in real terms. Even so, the four largest categories – food, housing and energy, transport, and recreation – still account for roughly 60% of total spending.
Clothing and communications recorded the biggest declines in their share of household budgets. Spending on clothing and footwear fell by one-third as a share of household budgets, mainly as a result of years of price deflation and growing competition in retail. The share of spending on communications, meanwhile, declined as technological change reduced the costs associated with traditional telecommunications and postal services.
Services are taking up an increasing share of household budgets, particularly restaurants, travel and healthcare. Rising spending on restaurants and hotels reflects growing affluence and the development of the experience economy. The larger share devoted to healthcare, meanwhile, is primarily the result of the rapid increase in medical-service prices in recent years, particularly for private outpatient consultations.