Leading the monthly and annual spending declines were big falls in spending on food and beverages,which includes groceries but not dining out. Over the month,food and beverage spending fell 3.8 per cent,while in the year to April it fell by 1.4 per cent.
Commonwealth Bank chief economist Stephen Halmarick said it was unusual for food and beverage spending to be so weak.
“That’s a really stark indicator of just the pressure a lot of households are under,” he said.
Overall spending habits also varied widely by household type. Households that own their homes outright lifted their annual spending by 6.3 per cent,while those with mortgages increased their annual spending by 4.5 per cent. Renters,who make up a third of all households,lifted spending by only 1.3 per cent.
Halmarick said the figures reinforced the point that renters and those on lower incomes had to adjust their spending “much more aggressively”.
The change in spending does not account for inflation,which was 3.6 per cent over the year to March. Taking inflation into account,overall spending has gone backwards.