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Groceries vs video games: How women and men spend their stimulus payments differently
By Matt Wade
Women who received the government’s one-off stimulus payment during the past fortnight have spent up big on food, household bills and other essentials.
But male recipients had other priorities – they spent more than women on video games, apps, music, car-related expenses, alcohol, taxis and insurance.
Men and women have spent the government's one-off stimulus payments differentlyCredit: Getty Images
For a second week in a row, the $750 payment to about 6.5 million pensioners and social security recipients has boosted spending across the economy, a real-time spending tracker created by credit bureau illion and consultancy AlphaBeta shows.
Women led the charge in spending the special payment — female recipients have spent 48 per cent of the money ($357) while men have spent just 37 per cent ($281).
Those who received the stimulus cheque spent an extra $109 on groceries compared to consumers with a similar profile who had not yet received the stimulus cheques. Stimulus recipients spent $58 more than normal on clothing and other merchandise, $38 more on rent and housing costs, $28 more on takeaway food and $22 more on automotive expenses (which includes petrol).
The stimulus payment announced last month has pumped nearly $5 billion into the economy over the past fortnight.
Overall, those who received one of the stimulus payments spent just under half (43 per cent) of the $750 in the first fortnight.
The chief executive of credit bureau illion, Simon Bligh, said it was good so much of the stimulus had been spent rather than saved.
“That money will flow through the economy to support jobs and businesses doing it tough,” he said.
“Women are the heroes out of all this, but let’s not forget blokes spending money on their cars helps keep the economic wheels turning.”
Men spent seven times more than women on gambling although the overall amount used for gambling was only $8 per person. Most stimulus recipients did not spend any of the payment on gambling.
“While we’re seeing a clear divide on how people are spending their stimulus payments between essential and discretionary items, there is no doubt that both these categories are essential to the economy,” Mr Bligh said.
Andrew Charlton, a director of AlphaBeta which is part of Accenture, said the economic impact of the one-off stimulus payments had been impressive.
“We can see how necessary this stimulus was as it's being spent quickly and efficiently on mostly essential items,” he said. “The increase in spending on groceries within the cohort that received the stimulus will go a long way to taking some pressure off many households.”