ANZ spending data published Tuesday by Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell revealed Australians are reacting to the uncertainty towards Omnicron by spending less on the likes of dining and travel.
NSW spending in particular has been hampered, with residents spending 25% less in the week to 2 January 2022 compared with the same week a year ago.
The risk of contracting COVID appears to outweigh open borders to the world, and Ms Timbrell noted the decline in spending was mostly due to much lower travel to NSW.
NSW is not alone, with all states recording a significant reduction in spending across shopping, travel and dining when compared to years past.
Aussies offset omicron by heading online
In a bid to curb a fear of the unknown, Aussies have continued to make the most of resources available at their fingertips through online shopping.
ANZ spending data observed a significant increase in the proportion of non-food retailing occurring online to close out and kick-start the New Year.
Source: ANZ Research
Ms Timbrell noted that higher rates of online spending, particularly for dining, show that both businesses and households are adjusting to iterative lockdowns, movement restrictions and COVID transmission caution by moving more spending online.
With national online dining spending around 2% pre-COVID, ANZ spending data shows that 8-9% of national dining spending now occurs online.
Ms Timbrell cites increased access to online ordering, mixed with caution about going out in public, may elevate the level of online dining spend for a while to come.
Image by Arturo Rey via Unsplash
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