A consumer sentiment index suggests households are raring to spend this festive season. But here’s some tips for saving money.
Aussie households seem keen to splash cash during the busy Christmas trading period, new data suggests, with consumer confidence rising as borders reopen.
The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating lifted by 0.5 per cent to 108 last week after a long-run average of 112.4 since 1990.
“The sentiment gauge is up by 1.9 per cent so far in December as Aussies learn to live with coronavirus as government restrictions are pared back amid higher vaccination rates,” CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said on Tuesday.
Consumer confidence in Queensland leapt by 5.2 per cent, even before the reopening of the state border to fully vaccinated travellers from both NSW and Victoria on Monday.
Confidence surged in South Australia (up 8.8 per cent) and Western Australia (up 4.1 per cent) and was virtually unchanged in Victoria (up just 0.1 per cent).
But a spike in new Covid cases in NSW on Saturday dealt a blow, thumping down confidence in the state by 5.5 per cent, which substantially offset the overall index, Mr Felsman said.
Consumer views on whether it was a good time to buy a major household item rose to a five-month high.
“Encouragingly for retailers, Aussie households appear willing to spend during the busy Christmas trading period,” Mr Felsman said.
The bank’s credit and debit card spending data for the week ending December 10 was 20.6 per cent higher compared with the same week in 2019before the health crisis struck.
But momentum has since slowed across all states and territories, suggesting Aussie shoppers may have already snapped up the bulk of their bargains in increasingly popular late November sales.
“The Black Friday to Cyber Monday sales period has likely played a part in the slowdown,” Mr Felsman said.
“A moderation in spend on clothing and footwear, general retail and household furnishings and equipment led the slowing.
“Despite the pull back, the pace of consumer spending remains at a fairly solid level.”
Meanwhile, comparison website Finder says new data shows Australians are spending 38 per cent more this holiday season than they did last year.
Taking in gift shopping, food, alcohol, eating out and getting around, the average Aussie is set to fork out $1232 this Christmas, according to the company.
Cooped-up millenials are slated to spend the most overall ($1518) with baby boomers trying to be more frugal ($930).
Post-lockdown fever is expected to prompt Victorians to splash out more than any other state or territory ($1373) followed by people in similarly Delta-ravaged NSW ($1361).
Financial adviser Robert Inukihaangana from 1st Financial Solutions suggests taking part in the “sharing economy” to save money this Christmas.
Some examples are using car-sharing platform Car Next Door instead of trying hire a vehicle when on holidays, given prices are as much as double what they would normally be in tourist hotspots due to the global car shortage.
“Renting a Toyota Corolla in Tasmania for seven days over Christmas will set you back $1309.50. To borrow one from a local is just $199.50 for the week,” according to Finder.
Another example is using dress sharing platforms such as The Volte rather than splashing hundreds more on a new designer dress.
And if you’re up for a dip, a service called Swimply – known as “the Airbnb for swimming pools” – allows you to hire someone’s private pool for as little as $28 an hour.
Originally published as Consumer confidence lifts, Australians ‘willing to spend’ this Christmas
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