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Australians spent more money boozing at home when pubs and restaurants were reopening last year than in the darkest months of the pandemic winter.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data released last week also showed our thirst for takeaway alcohol in locked-down and socially-distanced 2020 eclipsed that of 2019 by at least $1.3 billion – a figure likely to rise by a billion or two once December, traditionally the most indulgent month, is included in the ABS tables.
Until those numbers come through, October takes top spot for 2020, with Australians spending $1.37 billion on grog and other goodies from liquor retailers.
Curiously, the $1.35 billion we spent on takeaway alcohol in November – when parts of Australia s pub scene were resembling pre-pandemic times and even Victoria was beginning to loosen hospitality restrictions – was more than in June ($1.26 billion), July ($1.29 billion), August ($1.27 billion) and September ($1.28 billion).
Shoppers canât travel but they can still spend
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People canât travel overseas but in the past few weeks they have been spending with gusto.
With the economy recovering, extra funds that people stashed away in the early stages of the pandemic are being redirected into retail after a rough year.
Deus Ex Machina retail area manager Darrell Nuqui . people have been spending up on the retailerâs high-end custom motorcycles, clothing and fashion accessories. Peter Braig
The sudden northern beaches COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney may yet put a partial handbrake on the optimism, but a robust retail injection has already occurred.