The Economist mentioned in one of their articles how retail sales account for only about 40% of consumer spending. My question is: What is the remaining 60% of consumer spending? A part of it is house buying I guess?
40% sounds about right, the rest is services. You can check the consumer spending breakdown on the BEA website under personal income and outlays -> Personal Consumption Expenditures by Major Type of Product. It's 18% healthcare, 17% housing. Transport, recreation, finance, travelling are also large chunks. https://bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=9&step=1#reqid=9&step=1&isuri=1&903=65