Consumer spending on services like recreation and transportation dropped significantly during the 2007-09 recession and has been slow to recover. This led to a study on whether spending on consumer goods also changed during this time. The study looked at how spending on durable goods (like appliances) and nondurable goods (like food) changed during recessions and recoveries. The findings show that spending on consumer goods also fell sharply during the recession and has been slower to bounce back, similar to spending on services.