Aussie spending threatened as restrictions rebound, says Zip

Just when we thought life was creeping back to “normal” a second wave of restrictions were announced across Aussie states and territories last week.

Naturally, as many of us stepped out of our houses and headed to the hairdresser, a restaurant or pub, customer spending seemed to be bouncing back.

But with restrictions rebounding across the country, those numbers are likely to take another dive.

Co-founder and chief operating officer of Buy Now Pay Later platform, Zip, Peter Gray says that during June it looked like Aussie businesses were on the road to recovery. However, he questions whether or not it’s enough to help them survive the second-wave of restrictions in July.

“Throughout June, consumer spending continued to rise and was getting close to pre-COVID levels across many key segments. Australians were reviving their love of dining out and were slowly returning to the pub,” he said.

“However the recovery looks set to be tarnished as the nation’s second most populous city [Melbourne] and surrounds enter full lockdown measures for the entirety of July and into August.”

Spending trends in June

According to data from Zip’s Weekly Spending Index, some industries and businesses were making progress last month but still showed numbers well below 2019.

While restaurants and cafes were seeing more customers through the door they haven’t recovered to pre-COVID levels. And pubs and bars showed similar progress, however takings were still down by over 30% compared to the stats last year.

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Source: Aussie spending threatened as restrictions rebound, says Zip