Household spending increased by 0.8% in October, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This marks a recovery from the 0.2% decline in September and builds on a modest 0.3% rise in August.
Robert Ewing (pictured above left), ABS head of business statistics, highlighted the broad-based nature of the growth.
“Spending rose across all nine categories in October,” Ewing said. “This was led by recreation and culture, with households snapping up tickets for several major international music concerts and sporting events in 2025.”
The overall increase was fueled by a 1.5% rise in services spending, primarily from recreational services and air travel.
Goods spending, however, remained subdued, edging up by only 0.2%. Discretionary spending saw its strongest monthly rise since November 2023, climbing 1.1%, while non-discretionary spending rose 0.2%.
Recreation and culture led the gains, growing 1.5%, followed by health, hospitality, and miscellaneous categories, each up 0.9%. Clothing and footwear also performed well, rising 1.1%. Modest gains were seen in food and alcohol spending, each up 0.1%.
ABS introduced seasonally adjusted estimates for states and territories, showing spending growth nationwide. New South Wales and South Australia led with a 1.0% rise, followed by Tasmania (0.9%) and Western Australia (0.8%).
Neha Sharma (pictured above right), an economist at Westpac, observed that the results exceeded expectations, with annual spending growth rising to 2.8% from 0.9% in September. However, Sharma cautioned that the surge could be short-lived.
“Early discounting and price-sensitive consumers may dampen gains, as seen last year,” she said.
As the holiday season approaches, analysts will closely monitor whether this rebound signals sustained momentum or a temporary boost from discretionary spending.
Read the ABS media release here. For more details, read Monthly Household Spending Indicator, October 2024. Read the Westpac insights here.
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