Shedding Light on Daylight Saving Time

Every year, over 300 million Americans observe Daylight Saving Time (DST). Advocates of DST argue that the policy increases consumer spending, thereby providing the economy with a boost. The actual effects, however, are difficult to measure.

In its new report, "Shedding Light on Daylight Savings Time," the JPMorgan Chase Institute used over 380 million transactions from over 2.5 million customers in Los Angeles and Phoenix to measure consumer responses to the beginning and end of DST from October 2012 to June 2015.

Key findings of this report include:

• When DST begins in the spring, daily spending on credit and debit cards in Los Angeles increases by 0.9 percent. However, when DST ends in the fall, daily credit and debit card spending in Los Angeles decreases by 3.5 percent.
• In Los Angeles, DST is more likely to impact daily card spending on goods like groceries or clothing rather than services like healthcare.
• In response to the end of DST in the fall, daily card spending in Los Angeles drops significantly more during the work week.

Find out more in the full report.

Read the report

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