Black Friday sales, new vehicles boost household spending in November

Black Friday sales, new car purchases and movie releases have contributed to a lift in household spending in November, fresh data shows, although the underlying picture remains subdued.

Growth in clothing and footwear, as well as recreation and culture drove the 0.4 per cent lift in consumer spending in November, according to fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

However it fell short of the 0.7 per cent growth expected and slower than the 0.9 per cent gain recorded in October.

“Spending in cinemas continued to grow strongly, with major releases such as Wicked, Gladiator II and Moana 2 all opening in November,” ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said.

“Strength in new vehicle purchases also contributed to higher discretionary spending, with the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries reporting a notable rise in SUV sales in November.”

But looking at trend figures — which strips out volatility and captures longer term movements — spending growth appears to have slowed to just 0.2 per cent month-on-month in November.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia senior economist Stephen Wu said the lack of noticeable pick-up suggested the muted consumer response to the stage three tax cuts likely continued into the end of 2024.

“While we still need the December data to confirm, so far there does not seem to be any substantial pick-up in nominal spending nearly two quarters after the income tax cuts,” he said.

Spending growth was seen in Queensland (up 0.7 per cent), Victoria (up 0.5 per cent), South Australia and WA (both up 0.5 per cent), while the ACT and Tasmania fell 0.4 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.

The ABS on Thursday reported retail turnover rose 0.8 per cent in November, thanks to Black Friday sales.