New real-time data from illion and AlphaBeta shows that Australia’s low-income earners (those earning less than $65k a year) have carried the economy on their shoulders throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

This week, the data is showing the first signs of ‘normality’ in the Australian economy. Cafes are almost back to pre-COVID levels, while spending on restaurants is 20% more than pre-COVID levels, mainly due to the increasing share of food delivery.

New data released shows that women who accessed early Super focused their spending on essential items for themselves and their families, while men spent it on discretionary items, including a huge gambling binge.

If you didn’t need it, would you access your Super early? Many of your fellow Aussies sure did, as our research shows that 40% of those dipping into their retirement funds because of Coronavirus, did so even though their income hadn’t suffered. The following analysis breaks this down further and answers “is it worth it?”

New data released today shows that spending in Australia is returning to normal – just 3% below pre-COVID-19 levels, thanks to recent hardship measures like mortgage holidays and government stimulus payments.

Consumer spending continues to increase, adding more evidence that stimulus measures are working. We can also see in real time that states slower to reopen are the states where spending is remaining stagnant. All of this points to the importance of retaining the stimulus and slowly continuing to re-open when it’s safe to do so region-by-region.

After the dismal spending patterns that emerged in last week’s economic update, the Australian economy needed some good news. Luckily we got it – in the form of a 13% increase in spending.