Hobby Spending Rose 7.9% in August, BoA Data Shows

Hobby spending grew at more than double the pace of overall transaction growth in August, according to Bank of America card data. The figure anchors a new report on the hobby economy from the Bank of America Institute, and it comes with a warning: the price of fun is climbing.

Arts and crafts stores, hobby shops, and outdoor recreation retailers are driving what the BoA Institute has dubbed "funflation." Consumers are spending more on their hobbies, but those hobbies are also getting significantly more expensive.

Hobby culture is having a visible moment online. Gen Z and millennials are documenting their pursuit of "grannycore" skills such as knitting, gardening, scrapbooking, and sewing. The BoA Institute's data suggests this is more than a social media trend—it reflects a measurable shift in consumer behavior.

The mini hobby renaissance

The report traces a clear arc. Hobby spending spiked during the pandemic, around early 2021, then petered off over the following years. Now interest is ticking up again. In August, hobby spending rose 7.9% year-over-year while actual transactions increased 3.4%.

The gap between those two numbers is the inflation story: people are paying more per purchase.

"In our view, it's likely that people splurged on hobbies amid social distancing during the pandemic, then gravitated back toward pricier alternatives like travel throughout 2022 and 2023," the report reads.

That rotation may now be reversing. The report points to a possible shift back toward less expensive leisure as after-tax wage growth has slowed considerably and rising fuel costs have made travel less accessible.

Arts, crafts, and video games

Spending patterns vary sharply by generation. Older millennials spent the most per customer on hobbies, a trend the BoA Institute attributes to that generation's likelihood of having small children. Baby boomers and Gen X followed closely behind.

Gen Z spent the least. The report's researchers theorize this may result from a pivot away from costlier hobbies toward "activities like knitting, sewing, or baking (arts and crafts)."

The categories also split by age. Older millennials were the most likely to spend on outdoor recreation and arts and crafts, with Gen Z second in both categories. Gen Z's video game spending increased roughly 20% year-over-year in August, on top of a sizable increase of over 30% year-over-year in 2025.

Board games, crocheting, and hiking remain cheaper than a trip to Cancun. But they will still cost more than they did in 2025—and if wage growth keeps slowing, funflation may test how much consumers are willing to pay for their leisure.