- More than 4 in 10 Gen Zs cancelled a streaming service in the last three months to save money.
- Younger Australians now saving more than $900 each year by cutting back on subscriptions.
- Australians more likely to cancel a TV streaming service than their subscriptions to newspapers, news sites, magazines, audio books and apps (including paid dating apps).
Gen Zs and younger Australians are saving more than $76 each month by cutting back on streaming services as well as other subscriptions, totalling more than $900 each year in savings.
New data from NAB reveals more than 4 in 10 Australians under 30 have cut back on streaming services since mid-year to save money, while one in three Australians more broadly had made similar changes.
NAB Personal Banking Executive Kylie Young said Australians were increasingly turning to budgeting tools from their bank for easy ways to prioritise their spending and contend with the rising cost of living.
“Younger Australians are hitting pause on streaming services and choosing spending control rather than their remote control,” Ms Young said.
“With so many streaming platforms and so much content split across different services, Australians are prioritising what they want to watch and how much they want to save.”
More Australians were cutting back on streaming now than mid-year (+4%), and since the start of 2023 (+9%), saving an average $32 each month, while savings climbed to $38 per month for Australians under 30.
NAB data has also revealed Australians were a little less likely to give up subscriptions to newspapers, news sites, magazines, audio books and apps and premium subscriptions (29%) than streaming services (34%). Savings from cutting back on these subscriptions totalled $27 per month, or $38 for those under 30.
“Australians are choosing to stay informed, connected and they’re prioritising spending on premium lifestyle subscriptions including news, magazines and even paid dating apps over streaming,” Ms Young said.
“Many streaming services are easily paused, while other subscriptions are ‘stickier’ and require a longer lead time to cancel or may arrive more infrequently, such as quarterly magazines.”
NAB has seen a 62% jump in the number of customers using its new Spending feature in the last three months, to more than 1.5 million. Available across the NAB app and internet banking, it automatically categorises transaction data so customers can better identify where their direct debits are going, removing the need to trawl through old statements. Customers can quickly see their spend on subscriptions, memberships, insurance payments, gym and health, supermarket and other payments all in one place.
NAB provides these services by enhancing the transaction data of its over three million digital customers to deliver personalised spending insights that help customers better manage their money.
Additional information:
- Data from NAB Consumer Sentiment Survey Q3 of more than 2,000 Australians.
- Data measures unique visitors to the NAB Spending feature in NAB mobile app and Internet banking.
