A recent report indicates a significant rise in consumer spending over the past year, but the report’s impressive spending figures may lose some of their luster when considered in light of the persistent inflation which has affected the U.S. economy over the same period. New data from MasterCard SpendingPulse indicates that consumer retail spending (excluding automobile purchases) rose by 8.4 percent year over year in March 2022. While the report noted a 3.3 percent decline in online retail spending since March 2021, this subtle decline was more than made up for by an 11.2 percent rise in in-store spending, as consumers have gradually begun to return to brick and mortar retail as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic subsides. Spending on luxury goods was the fastest-growing category measured in the report, rising at a rate of 27.1 percent since March 2021. Restaurant spending rose 19.1 percent over the same …