Sydney, Sept, 17: Women’s spending habits have shifted away from aesthetics with a new survey revealing the current lockdown has seen a 217 per cent increase in female spend on working from home and home-schooling.
Aussies aged 45-54 also tapped into this category, with almost double spending on tech.
“We know consumer spending is down this past month with additional retail closures and the lack of a Jobkeeper compared to 2020, but this hasn’t stopped consumers spending big on leisure,” Australian retail and marketing expert, Amanda Stevens said.
“While consumers are still investing in tech for work and educational needs, we are seeing a shift to spend on big-ticket leisure items to give us that rush of endorphins we are all craving right now.
“With our money usually spent on travel and other entertainment activities, Aussies are splurging on home gym equipment, kitchen appliances and mini home makeovers to avoid the ‘groundhog’ day feeling.”
More than 1,000 Australians were asked about their lockdown spending habits across 2020 and 2021 in recent research commissioned by Addicted to Audio.
Of the women who spent the most on fashion and beauty during the 2020 lockdowns, this year almost half have shifted their investment to remote working and learning.
While most men favoured tech and homewares last year, 2021 has seen almost 40 per cent of these respondents investing in leisure.
Both men and women saw an increase in tech spend this year with the strict stay at home order requiring more Aussies to work and study remotely.
While 74 per cent of Australians invested in things other than tech last year, the reality of the ongoing restrictions has shifted spending habits, with the country investing more in tech upgrades than leisure.
When it comes to tech, personal audio purchases including headphones and earphones have peaked across the board this year.
In other categories, however, almost 20 per cent of those aged 35-44 invested in Hi-Fi audio this lockdown, illustrating homeowners’ focus on upgrading their home entertainment systems.
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