Australians are being forced to tighten their belts with the cost of living crunch continuing to put strain on households. This has been highlighted in recent figures from the Digital Economy Index, a quarterly year-on-year snapshot of the digital economy produced by global financial platform Airwallex. It estimates that online spending for people aged 18+ has dropped by $587 per adult, from the second quarter of 2022 to the same period in 2023.
The overall drop in online purchases comes as people are struggling with the rising cost of essential items such as groceries, housing, and energy. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, consumer price inflation has risen from 0.9% in the same period last year to 1.8% in the second quarter of this year, with prices in some areas such as clothing and footwear seeing a jump of almost 3%.
By state, online spending in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia all increased, with Tasmania showing the most significant growth, having a digital revenue turnover of 12.8 per cent higher than before.
However, there is an indication that the growth may soon start to decline, as that figure has fallen by 4.89 per cent since the last quarter.
South Australia had the worst online spending results among all industries, with a 16.77% shrink in digital economy activity for both 2023 quarters. These figures show a stark contrast to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ monthly household spending indicator, which reported a 3.3% increase in overall household spending in May compared to the same period in 2020.
