Spice, cafés, cuts, holidays & cash recover,the report says
According to eftpos data, Australia is beginning to return to small business segments as lockdowns ease, while showing big increases in specialised food, eating out, pubs, holidays and haircuts.
The number of Aussies accessing cash via ATMs and Cash Out also showed good signs of recovery, jumping dramatically in recent weeks but still down on levels from pre-COVID Australia in early 2020.
Mr. Benton said Australians were rushing back to their favourite restaurants in big numbers, and many had chosen to get a haircut or take a well-earned break and go on holiday.
In fact, eating out has rebounded well, with cafes and restaurants’ posting a 58% jump compared to this time last year and were up higher than pre-COVID levels.
As people begin to get out of the house and take holidays, hotels, motels and resorts jumped 91%.
Another interesting trend was that more people were accessing cash, but not in the volumes eftpos was seeing in the pre-COVID economy.
People are accessing Cash Out at the checkout around 25% more often compared to this time last year, while ATM withdrawals that saw a significant rise straight after lockdowns eased and are now starting to plateau.
We’ve reported that Carrefour launches contactless store in Paris.
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