Cost-of-living pressures continue unabated. However new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures for household spending in October show a healthy turning point from several months of up-and-down growth rates, measuring up to 0.8 per cent per annum this last month.
The main contributor was services, which upped an average of 1.5 per cent due to concert-goers eager for international tours in 2025 in addition to many sporting events. In comparison, spending on goods showed only minor gains of just 0.2 per cent. The message here seems to demonstrate the increasing thirst that Australians have for life experiences rather than material possessions.
Further spending trends are evidenced in bank information, where the Commonwealth Bank also reports booking numbers skyrocketing due to events like the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix and major concerts around the country. Year-on-year transaction data from NAB during the Black Friday sales period mirrored a 4 per cent rise in spending value, despite fewer transactions overall.
In regional terms, New South Wales tops the spending with a 1 per cent increase all resulting from major events such as the NRL grand final. South Australia, Tasmania. Queensland comes in last place with an improvement of 0.4 per cent.
Other categories showing marked rises in spending were airfares and car rentals, as consumers flocked to the travel agency in seeking the best competitive prices for their holiday plans.
It should be noted, however, that these positive indicators exist amid a general pattern of slow overall economic growth. The GDP figures for the September quarter indicated a drop of 0.3 per cent per capita. Annual growth for the year to September 2024 recorded only 0.8 per cent, the slowest rate of growth since the early 1990s, except for the pandemic years. Much of the year had witnessed an undercurrent of depressed household spending coupled with corporate restraint on investment.
Economists are interpreting the upturn in discretionary expenditure for October as a sign that households are recovering from the last two years of cutbacks. An incremental improvement in spending intentions has reflected consumer sentiment surveys, showing growing positive sentiments but still caution among Australians as the holiday approaches.
While November figures will await January for full disclosure, early signs of recovery in October leave hopes for more energetic consumer activity, with recreation and culture being the spearhead of invigorated household spending.
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