Cost of living concerns have eased slightly but the majority of Western Australians will spend less over the holiday period than last year, according to CCIWA’s Consumer Confidence Report for the December quarter.
The survey of 848 WA households, conducted in early November, asked respondents about their spending plans over the Christmas and New Year period.
The survey found that two in five (42%) respondents planned to spend less over the holiday period than they did last Christmas.
A similar proportion (40%) said they would spend the same as in 2023, while the remaining 17% indicated they would spend more.
Younger people were more likely to spend more, with 26% of 18- to 39-year-olds indicating they will increase their spending.
The survey found the average spend for WA households was $2,100, up from last year’s predicted average spend of $1,800.
However, the median household holiday spending was $600, down from $1,000 last year.
CCIWA Chief Economist Aaron Morey said this indicated a widening gap in household spending.
“Unsurprisingly, those with higher incomes are likely to be spending more, with those that earn between $116,000 and $185,00 per year expecting to spend around $5,000 on average,” he said.
“In contrast, households with incomes under $75,000 expect to spend around $1,100 on average.”
Collectively, West Australians are expected to spend just over $6 billion over the festive season.
Despite the indication that most will spend less this Christmas, concerns about the cost-of-living crisis appear to be easing among WA households.
“The vast majority of respondents still say they’re concerned about the cost of living, at 69%, however this is down nine percentage points from its peak six months ago,” Mr Morey said.
“This could partly be attributed to electricity subsidies from the State and Federal Governments and comes as Perth’s annual inflation rate eased to 3.8% in the September quarter.
“Although inflation is moving closer to the target range, it’s clear that the cumulative impact of long-running inflation is weighing on household budgets.”
Overall, consumer confidence in the December quarter is at its highest level since June 2023, with one in five (20%) of respondents expecting economic conditions to improve in the coming quarter.
Almost three in five (58%) expect conditions to stay the same while 22% predict weaker conditions.
