Australian consumers ramped up their hospitality spending in October, propelling the category into the top three nationwide spending categories, according to the latest Household Spending Insights report from Commonwealth Bank (CBA).
Hospitality was among the strongest-performing categories in October, tied with motor vehicles for the second-highest monthly growth at 1.0%, beaten only by transport at 1.2%.
The hospitality sector also showed robust year-over-year momentum, with annual growth of 9.1% compared to October 2023.
According to CBA, this was driven by food delivery services, restaurants, fast food outlets, pubs, taverns & bars, and takeaway food. However, event hire and planning, function centres, breweries, wineries, and cafes took an annual hit.
Economists cautious about figures
The strong performance comes as total household spending increased 0.6% month over month in October and rose 6.3% year over year, suggesting Australian consumers remain willing to spend and dine out despite broader economic headwinds.
However, economists caution that the headline figures may overstate the sector’s health, as much of the growth appears to be driven by price increases rather than by more customers walking through the door.
“The recent strength in spending is likely being driven partially by price increases rather than purely higher consumption volumes,” said Belinda Allen, Head of Australian Economics at CBA. “That’s important because it complicates how we interpret household resilience and how the Reserve Bank of Australia reads the economy as it weighs future interest rate decisions.”
The hospitality sector’s strong 9.1% annual growth outpaced several other discretionary categories, including household goods at 5.2% and recreation at 5.4%.
“Household resilience has been remarkable,” Allen said. “But sustained inflationary pressure could impact consumer choices going forward.”
The data comes from CBA’s analysis of anonymised transaction data across its customer base, providing real-time insights into Australian consumer behaviour.
