what is consumer discretionary

Consumer discretionary refers to goods and services that consumers consider non-essential but desirable if their available income is sufficient to purchase them. These are items that consumers can usually live without and dont necessarily need in their day-to-day lives. Examples of consumer discretionary items include fast food, furniture and appliances, vacations and leisure activities, and vehicles. The consumer discretionary sector of the economy encompasses various industries, the companies of which produce consumer discretionary products. Some of the industries in the consumer discretionary sector include automobiles, hotels, restaurants and leisure, internet and direct marketing retail, and textiles, apparel and luxury goods. Consumer discretionary stocks tend to do well when the economy is strong and poorly when times are tough. Unlike consumer staples companies, which make necessities, consumer discretionary businesses cover several different industries, but all rely on consumers spending money that they dont need to spend.