Eating out spending up but not for cafes and casual dining
Fine dining spending, however, climbed 7%.
Cafes and casual dining spending went down 3% in the quarter to March compared to last year, a report by CommBank iQ revealed.
In its Cost of Living Insights Report, Commbank iQ used Australia’s largest de-identified transactional banking data set to evaluate a range of metrics that indicate changes in the cost of living and the different ways Australians are responding.
Comparing nationwide spending in the March quarter of 2024 to the same time last year shows people spent 2.5% more. That’s behind the last inflation print of 3.6%.
Spending on essential items has continued its steady run-up, showing a 3.6% increase compared to same time last year. Meanwhile, there was only a 1.4% bump in discretionary spending, the lever people are more likely to pull to keep their budget in check.
The study found that eating out and food delivery spending went up 2%. However, whilst fast food purchases went up 5%, cafes and casual dining restaurants suffered a 3% dip. According to the report, this could be because consumers have switched to more affordable options.
On the other hand, spending on fine dining grew 7%, albeit from a far smaller dollar value and customer base.
Younger consumers feeling the pressure
Meanwhile, the younger consumers are bearing the brunt of cost of living pressures, with 25 to 29 years old pulling back spending by 3.5% compared to last year. When adding in inflation, consumption shrank more than 7% year-on-year.
At the other end of the spectrum, total spending amongst over-60s ran ahead of inflation. Only marginally for 60–64-year-old Australians, then stepping up gradually with age.
For the younger cohort, a cutback in travel, household goods and apparel expenditure was paired with lower spending on supermarkets and utilities.
This is a stark difference to over 65s, whose spending lifted most in many of the same categories. This includes a jump in travel, insurance, eating out and food delivery, and supermarket purchases helping balance out these gains at a national level.
*All graphs from CommBank iQ's Cost of Living Insights Report.
