Locked-down consumers splurge on gambling, takeaway and gadgets ... again

Housebound consumers in Sydney and Melbourne have spent big on gambling, home deliveries and electronic gadgets during the 2021 lockdowns. But binges on homewares and office equipment that marked the lockdowns of 2020 have not been repeated.

Spending on online gambling in Australia’s two biggest cities has peaked at 329 per cent above normal levels during the latest lockdowns. That surpasses the gambling surge during last year’s lockdown, which peaked at 215 per cent above the pre-pandemic norm.

Gambling spending has surged during pandemic lockdowns.

Another pandemic boom industry – home delivery – has also surpassed previous heights. Spending on home delivery peaked at 203 per cent above the pre-pandemic norm during the 2021 lockdowns, surpassing the high point of 132 per cent above normal, reached last time around.

The consumption trends are revealed by a real-time spending tracker, developed by consultancy Accenture and credit bureau illion, which draws on anonymised weekly bank transaction data of hundreds of thousands of Australian customers.

It shows that a big rise in spending on consumer electronics, pets and alcohol evident during last year’s lockdown has been repeated during 2021 lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.

But the splurge on homewares and home offices during last year’s lockdown has been moderated – spending growth on furniture, office equipment and hardware in Sydney and Melbourne has been much lower during the latest lockdowns.

Accenture managing director Andrew Charlton said national data showed online gambling spending had been elevated since the 2020 lockdowns, pointing to a lasting shift in consumer behaviour.

“It appears many people have been introduced to online gambling during lockdowns. They’ve discovered there’s a poker machine in their pocket,” he said.

“Combine that with the boredom of being at home and extra money – maybe from government payments or extra savings – and maybe this addictive new technology gets away from us a bit.”

Simon Bligh, chief executive of illion, said it appeared people had turned to online gambling to amuse themselves during lockdowns.

“There really isn’t anywhere else to blow your cash in Sydney and Melbourne if you want a quick entertainment hit,” he said.

Pets in Sydney and Melbourne have been pampered during both lockdown periods. Spending on them during this year’s stay-at-home orders reached a high point of 66 per cent above the pre-pandemic norm – an even bigger jump than during the 2020 restrictions. The tracker shows spending on pets has been elevated since the pandemic began.

When lockdowns were imposed last year, spending on consumer electronics jumped to 160 per cent above normal levels. After falling back earlier this year, the amount spent on electronic gadgets has again surged back to be almost 150 per cent higher than usual during this year’s restrictions.

The travel industry was hit hard amid the restrictions and border closures during the early stages of the pandemic. But spending on holidays has not fallen as much during the 2021 lockdowns as last year.

Dr Charlton said many consumers seemed to be anticipating an end to restrictions and were planning future holidays.

“In a sense, this is COVID 2.0 and we have a much better idea of what our future will be,” he said.

Few industries have been hit harder than recreation, fitness and entertainment during the pandemic but the decline in spending on those sectors during 2021 lockdowns has not been quite as bad as last year.

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