The phrase "consumer spending capacity" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the financial ability of consumers to spend money on goods and services.
Example: "The increase in consumer spending capacity has led to a boost in the retail sector."
Alternatives: "purchasing power" or "spending ability."
And according to Discover's U.S. Spending Monitor, an index of consumer spending intentions and capacity that is based on interviews with a random sample of 15,000 Americans, 62% of consumers said that they're planning to spend less this holiday season.
With sluggish consumer spending and rampant excess capacity in the economy (capacity utilization is at a record low of 68% compared to the historical average of 81%), firms will be reluctant to start hiring workers and investing in structures and equipment.
Many businesses are still saddled with too much capacity, consumer spending has slowed and a potential war in Iraq has made managers uncertain about oil prices and the broader economy.
This is a convenient ideology from the point of view of those who stand to profit from our working harder, and our increased capacity for consumer spending.
Carmakers effectively cut prices with inexpensive loans, allowing them to rid themselves of excess capacity and lifting consumer spending.
Few rich-world businesses can feel confident about expanding capacity when the outlook for consumer spending is so cloudy.
With consumer spending lackluster, price increases impossible (for most sectors) and industrial capacity utilization low at 75%, only divine intervention could produce a capital expenditure surge.
Consumer spending has accelerated, raising the prospect that firms will need extra capacity.
Other serious headwinds besides a growing overhang of unsold homes are expectations for subdued capital spending (far too much excess capacity in U.S. industry), job growth lagging the pace of consumer spending and a "mildly restrictive fiscal policy".
Firms' spare capacity also means that investment will continue to fall, while rising unemployment threatens to dent consumer spending.
