How well do Australians tip? Payments fintech Zeller launches the 2022 Australian Tipping Report
Zeller, the Australian payments and financial services fintech, has recently launched its first tipping report, exploring the state of tipping across the nation, tipping trends across industries, and how tipping is supporting local business owners as they recover from the ongoing economic impact of the pandemic.
Settling a state-by-state debate, Queenslanders are Australia’s most frequent tippers – they are more than two times more likely to add a tip on a transaction than those in New South Wales. In terms of the value of the tips left, Tasmanians’ are the most generous with an average $23 tip left on any given bill.
Zeller merchant and business owner, Luca Balbo of Park Street Pasta and Wine in South Melbourne, Victoria, commented, “I think 60% of the tip is already inside the person, the other 30% is the role the waiter plays. Good tips contribute to keeping my staff happy — and if they’re happy it benefits everyone.”
On how his tips have increased since utilising Zeller’s EFTPOS solution with built-in tipping functionality, Balbo said their tips have increased by over 25%. “The setting of Zeller, the way it’s laid out, it’s promoting the tip from the customer’s point of view. It’s the way to sell things. I think it’s really clever.”
Looking into trends by industry, the average tip value in the hospitality sector peaks on Tuesday at $17, and then is consistently $16 from Wednesday to Saturday. The highest volume of tips occurs on Friday and Saturday, aligned with the busiest trading days in the hospitality sector.
Diners eating later in the evenings are also more generous with their tips — the value of tips after 10 PM on mid-week to Friday evenings soars to between $37 and $46, more than double the average tip value on these days.
Despite the hospitality industry receiving the highest volume of tips across all sectors, the average percentage tip was 7% – on par with the overall national average, with charities and memberships, retail, beauty and travel earning a higher average tip percentage value.
“The past few years have been incredibly tough on Australian business owners, and it is great to see Australians being generous when tipping their local businesses. Australians are enjoying face-to-face service and interactions, prompting them to leave larger tips. Smarter payment technology providers, like Zeller, ensure that the tipping process is seamless and intuitive for customers while maximising the outcomes for our merchants,” Zeller CEO and Co-Founder Ben Pfisterer commented.
“57% of diners tell us that an automatic prompt in the EFTPOS payment flow makes them more likely to leave a tip. Zeller Terminal provides customers with three options, which can be personalised and seamlessly integrated into the checkout. Our data shows that when selecting from three options – a 5, 10, or 15% tip – most consumers leave a 10% gratuity, which is a great outcome for our merchants and their staff.”