Demand for french fries reflects resilient consumer as so-called fry attachment rate holds steady

It's a timeless question at fast-food counters: Do you want fries with that?

Responders continue answering affirmatively at a higher-than-average rate, a top potato supplier indicated. It underscores the resilience of consumer spending, even as inflation pinches pocketbooks and pandemic savings dry up.

A larger share of customers keep adding the iconic side to meal orders than in the past, according to frozen potato supplier Lamb Weston. Looking at the bigger picture, strength in the so-called fry attachment rate bolsters economic data, showing the willingness of average Americans to still shell out for everyday luxuries.

"The fry attachment rate has stayed pretty consistent," said CEO Thomas Werner during the company's earnings call on Thursday. "It's been above historical levels for the past two, three years."

This is just one example of how consumers keep purchasing despite mounting reasons to tighten purse strings, a phenomenon that's puzzling economists.

Perhaps economists should have considered the "fry attachment rate" ahead of Friday's jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 303,000 jobs in March, according to the new data. That was much higher than the 200,000 estimate from economists polled by Dow Jones and offered the latest sign of strength in the economy.

Spending on retail and food services in America topped $700 billion in February, according to advanced and adjusted government figures. That's about 1.5% higher in February than the same month a year ago. And it's a whopping 38.5% larger when compared with February 2019 — which is widely considered the last month before the pandemic shook up virtually all aspects of the economy.

Rising wages and fiscal stimulus padded bank accounts during the early years of the