- Household Spending Intentions data has been released for June
- The CBA reveals increased spending on health & fitness and education
- All other categories see a drop compared to last year
Aussie consumers are placing more importance on education, health and fitness.
According to CommBank‘s latest ‘Household Spending Intentions’ report, the spending intentions on education, health and fitness increased in the year to June.
Trend to wellbeing
The change is a reflection of a broader focus on wellbeing activities following the initial onset of the pandemic.
CommBank compiles its own transactions data with household search activity from Google Trends to determine spending intentions.
The data reported an increase in spending on doctors, hospitals, medical labs, nursing, personal care, orthopaedic, osteopaths and podiatrists. There was also an increase in fitness spending specifically seen in commercial and professional sports and club memberships.
“Last month’s increased spending in health and fitness on the prior year reflected a continued heightened consumer focus on this area,”
Stephen Halmarick, CBA Chief Economist
“Increased spending on commercial and professional sports and club memberships also reflected changes to restrictions in June and an ability to attend these events and venues,” Mr Halmarick said.
Education-related transactions grew as education fees rose and more children being enrolled in private schools.
The home buying, retail, travel, entertainment & motor vehicle categories on the other hand have seen a fall in spending intentions.
Mr Halmarick believes the fall in most areas this June compared with last year is not surprising considering the lockdown induced spike in household spending.
Current spending intentions are promising when compared to June 2019 (which can be regarded as the last ‘normal’ year), with most categories recording a rise in spending intentions.
“Lower CBA [Household Spending Intentions] data in most categories in June compared to June 2020 reflects the pick-up in spending as the country came out of the initial lockdown last year,” Mr Halmarick said.
“However increased spending intentions compared to 2019 underlines the ongoing strength of the economy, which is reflected in a wide range of other key economic data sources.”
