Overview

• Consumer spending rose 1.2% in May, a marked acceleration from subdued growth of 0.2% in April.
• Goods retail spending increased 1.2%, rebounding from last month’s weak performance. Meanwhile, spending on cafes & restaurant slowed to 0.4% following a strong growth in April. Retail spending went up 1.1% in May, 1.5% in 3-month average terms and 6.8% over the past 12 months.
• Discretionary spending rose 1.5%, and non-discretionary spending grew 0.7%
• Both official (ABS) and NAB data have reflected a weaker-than-expected consumer spending in the first four months of the year. In this context, our data for May are a welcome improvement and tentatively suggest that spending may have picked up as we move through the second quarter. However, a more sustained and broad-based recovery will depend on the evolution of consumer and business confidence throughout the rest of the year.

Monthly Consumer Spending

• Total spending grew 1.2% m/m in May. Overall, total consumer spending increased 1.8% in 3-month average terms and 7.2% over the past 12 months.
• Retail rebounded 1.1% m/m with a strong growth in goods retail (1.2%) while hospitality spending slowed to 0.4%.
• Spending increased in both essential services (1.4%) and other spending category (1.7%). This was offset by a decrease of 0.2% in vehicles & fuel.
• Goods spending increased 1.0% and services spending went up 1.3%. Discretionary spending increased 1.5% and non-discretionary spending grew 0.7%.

For further details please see NAB Monthly Data Insights (May 2025)