The CommBank household spending insights (HSI) index dipped by 0.7% in September, falling to 146.7, despite excitement surrounding the AFL and NRL Grand Finals.
Income tax cuts also failed to boost overall consumer spending as expected.
Six out of 12 spending categories recorded declines, with the most significant drops seen in hospitality (-2.8%), transport (-2.5%), household goods (-2.3%), and food and beverage (-0.6%).
However, recreation rose by 1.5%, primarily fuelled by a surge in ticket sales for major sporting events.
Spending on education and insurance edged up by 0.7%, and utilities rose 1.3%, driven by higher local council fees and strata costs, despite government rebates easing electricity prices.
Transport spending continues to decline, dropping 2.5% for the month and 7.2% year-on-year, as petrol prices have fallen by around 15% over the past year.
Overall consumer spending growth slowed to 2.1% annually in September, a notable decrease from 3.7% in August.
Renters saw a 1.1% reduction in spending over the year, while homeowners with mortgages experienced a slight 1.2% rise, and outright homeowners fared better with a 2.3% increase.
“Although we saw a rise in recreation spending associated with the AFL and NRL Grand Finals, consumer spending overall remains subdued,” Halmarick said.
He further explained that the extra take-home pay is being directed toward debt and essential expenses rather than non-essential purchases.
Halmarick also highlighted that economic conditions, along with a continued decline in inflation, suggest RBA may reduce interest rates by the end of 2024.
The CBA’s HSI index, which tracks trends using anonymized data from millions of transactions, provides a key indicator of overall economic activity in Australia.
Read the CommBank media release. To compare the latest figures with the previous results, click here.
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