people always consume and buy things.. the situation in the USA is that there has been money printing, asset inflation, cheap products from China and cheap gas for decades.. the system is exhausted in some parts, yet money isnt being exchanged the way it used to be, at small retail, among individuals.. some intermediaries have made so much money in the last two decades that they go into "castle" mode, while people who tried to work for a living, saw their income drop, wages actually go down in many industries due to "illegal" workers and "gig work" setups .. and essential costs of living like medical, housing and some others.. costs are much higher now. This is well documented.

Since covid, whole industries in retail, food and travel have shut down almost completely.

I don't think what you've said counters the idea that money needs to move hands and be exchanged. That's the root idea of inflation under a consumer based economy. Like I said, it is similarly bad when people (or large corporations) pool money and are not spending it. It is true for any type of actor, that we'd want to encourage them to spend the majority of their wealth and save very little (for the median person a retirement savings would be inconsequential and that money is just delayed anyways, so wouldn't affect the system much. Especially since it is staggered).