Economic commentary

October 14, 2025

Total spending continues to grow at a reasonable pace

By NAB Group Economics

Overview

• Consumer spending maintained steady growth in September, rising 0.2% month-on-month and showing a solid increase across the third quarter of the year.
• Retail spending rose 0.5% in September, rebounding from last month’s decline, driven primarily by a recovery in goods-related purchases.
• Spending on goods increased 0.8% while services spending fell 0.3%.
• Discretionary spending increased 0.5% m/m, and non-discretionary spending was broadly flat. 

Monthly Consumer Spending

• Total spending continues to grow at a reasonable pace, up 1.6% in 3-month average terms, and up 7.9% over the past 12 months.
• NSW led the growth in September, rebounding from the previous month’s contraction. Over the past 12 months, smaller states such as NT, SA and TAS have led the growth in consumer spending.
• Retail spending increased 0.5% m/m, with a recovery in goods retail (0.7% m/m) offset by a decline in spending on dining out (-0.4% m/m).
• Spending on essential services declined 1.0% m/m after growing strongly in the last couple months. Meanwhile, spending on other categories edged up 0.5% m/m.

For further details please see NAB Monthly Data Insights (September 2025) (PDF, 428KB)