Consumer behaviour has changed a lot over the last 12 months. I mean, I was trying to buy a chess set the other day and chess sets are sold out in shops.
Home entertainment, video-streaming services, buying online, not going out to the shops. All of those things have changed quite a lot. People who had the money to go overseas are not going overseas, therefore they’re spending it in Australia, to travel in Australia, which is a great thing.
House purchasing patterns have changed. People are, because they can work remotely now, they’re buying in more outer metropolitan and rural areas, which is great for rural areas. And I think that people have saved a lot of money as well during this time, so people are more cashed up. And the question is, will consumer activity return to normal? I suspect not.
I suspect we’ll be much more online. I suspect we’ll be much more focused on the home for some time to come.
Dr Norman Swan, Physician and Journalist
