Consumer Discretionary

The consumer discretionary sector consists of companies providing products and services that are not necessities. Its manufacturing segment includes automotive, household durables, textiles & apparel and leisure equipment. The services segment includes hotels, restaurants and other leisure facilities, media production and services, as well as consumer retailing and services.

The industries under the Consumer Discretionary sector are as follows:

• Auto Components
• Automobiles
• Distributors
• Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure
• Household Durables
• Specialty Retail
• Internet & Direct Marketing Retail
• Leisure Products
• Multiline Retail
• Diversified Consumer Services
• Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods

The sector Consumer Discretionary is highly sensitive to economic changes and business cycles. The industries in the sector are cyclical. In general, these companies benefit from an improving economy when consumer spending accelerates.

Industries that are focused around large consumer discretionary purchases, such as buying a car or a home, will be more sensitive to the business cycle of the economy than smaller purchases.