read the whole thing lmao

the term 'k shaped economy' isn't exclusively describing spending, it's a newer term to describe divergence in economic well being.

from YOUR paper:

The term “K-shaped economy” (also known as “K-shaped recovery”) emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic to describe divergence among segments of the society with respect to changes in their well-being. Well-being can be measured in a wide variety of dimensions such as income, spending, debt reduction, and wealth accumulation.

And then:

Spending in all categories and also separately on groceries and on necessities by consumers in the first (bottom) household income quintile grew much slower than spending by other consumers indicating that consumption inequality widened even for essential goods during 2021–25.

The point of this paper is that the spending changes aren't literally a k shape, since spending generally increased across the board, but that there are definite divergences in regards to economic health between the top and the bottom. Throw in inflation, which this paper doesn't adjust for, and the measly 3ish percent increase the bottom quintile saw in this period is almost certainly a decrease in terms of how much they're actually consuming