• More Australians (44%) are changing their spending habits to beat the cost of living crunch.
• Shoppers spending more time researching brands and products before they buy.
• Aussies increasingly loyal to trusted favourites, less likely to try new websites or retailers.

New NAB insight reveals Australians are taking their time before adding to their online shopping cart to combat scams and the rising cost of living.

According to NAB Economics’ latest Consumer Sentiment report, almost half of Australian shoppers (44%) are making changes to their spending habits to save money and avoid the urge to splurge.

NAB Personal Banking Executive Paul Riley said it was great to see consumers taking steps to make sure they’re getting more from their money.

“While online retail sales continued to increase, more people are purchasing from less expensive brands (36%) and are spending more time researching before heading to the checkout (23%),” Mr Riley said.

“Unlike during the pandemic, people are increasingly loyal to their favourite brands and are prioritising purchasing trusted products. The number of consumers shopping on new websites has fallen (-7%), as has trying a new retailer (-7%) or product (-5%), which are all well down on a year ago.”

The increase in loyalty to trusted brands shows people want more from their money by earning and redeeming points with each purchase. It is also being attributed to Australians becoming more scam savvy.

“People are getting much better at spotting the red flags of retail scams online, whether it be a sale price that’s too good to be true, or a website not offering trusted online payment methods like PayPal,” Mr Riley said.

“So, people are understandably wary of trying new websites or products and are opting to go where they know, in an effort to reduce their risk of being scammed.”

Customers are also using spending insights in the NAB app and Internet Banking to help them stay closer to their finances and make their money go further.

Find out more about fake fashion websites on NAB News and stay up to date with the latest scams and fraud advice available on NAB’s Security Hub.

ENDS

Editor’s note:

• NAB Economics data comes from a the Q4 Consumer Sentiment survey of more than 2,000 Australians over 18 years-old.
• For more information on practical support to improve your financial wellbeing, go to the NAB website.