Sign Aussies starting to spend again emerge as surprise jump in concerts, sporting events recorded

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveal household spending increased by 0.8 per cent month-on-month - with spending on Aussie concerts and sporting events leading the way. While it was stronger than expected October, it followed a 0.2 per cent fall in September and a 0.3 per cent rise in August. ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said spending rose across all nine categories in October. This was led by recreation and culture, with households snapping up tickets for several major international music concerts and sporting events in 2025. “A 1.5 per cent rise in Services spending drove the overall increase, as households spent more on recreational and cultural services and air travel. In contrast, Goods spending growth was relatively subdued, rising only 0.2 per cent in October.” Commonwealth Bank senior economist Stephen Wu said seasonally adjusted figures can be volatile month-to-month but the bank was also seeing a similar trend in consumer spending due to stronger than expected ticket sales. “We saw the same dynamic in our CommBank Household Spending Insights data, released more than three weeks ago, where ticket sales for Melbourne F1 and some major acts coming to Australia in 2025 drove higher spending at ticketing agencies,” Mr Wu said. The highest percentage rises were seen in New South Wales up 1 per cent with major events including the NRL grand final, while South Australia and Tasmania were the second and third highest uplift in consumer spending. Queenslanders experienced the smallest rise in GDP spending up 0.4 per cent. Household spending is tipped to remain strong in November, when the figures are released by the ABS in January. Transaction data from NAB shows spending in the Black Friday period was up 4 per cent year-on-year, although transactions fell by 4 per cent, suggesting Aussies are making fewer purchases while focusing on higher value-items. “Australians are spending more thoughtfully and choosing quality over quantity with sales on big-ticket items like TVs, cameras, and furniture up year on year,” NAB Executive Business Metro Julie Rynski said. “Aussie consumers also continue to prioritise spending on experiences and are taking advantage of the sales period to plan ahead for their holidays, with spending soaring on cheaper airfares and car rentals. The green shoots in consumer spending comes just a day after Australia’s official gross domestic product (GDP) was released which showed the September quarterly growth has stalled. The September figures show households were largely spending less and business investment remained subdued, with GDP growing by negative 0.3 per cent on a per capita basis. For the 12 months until September 2024, the economy grew by just 0.8 per cent. This was the slowest growth rate excluding the Covid pandemic, since the early 1990s. AMP economist My Bui said today’s figures are evidence that consumer spending bottomed out in September. “The Household Spending Indicator data confirmed October’s strong retail sales figure of 0.6 per cent month on month. Both sets of data showed that household spending in Australia has probably bottomed, with October discretionary purchases starting to pick up slightly (after 2 years of cutting back),” she wrote in an economic note. “This rebound is also consistent with recent consumer sentiment surveys that showed a slightly less negative level of spending intention ahead of the holidays.”